Gaara of the Light
by Witchdoctr
Summary: Sequel to Gaara of the Darkness. Gaara of the Darkness should be read first, because this is the second installment in my little trilogy. This time, definitely yaoi.
1. The First Chapter of My Sequel

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything Naruto. **

Winter was upon them and it was getting windy and colder. Fast. Icy winds rattled against the window and shadows were lenthening. The weather was getting ugly, fast and most people stayed inside where it was warm. As it began to snow and other forms of precipitation most commonly associated with winter, it was soon determined that school was cancelled. The board of supervisors decided it was too cold and wicked out there to make students get outside.

It was cold. Very cold.

Somewhere in a house, like the rest of the neighborhood, a blond was sleeping, drool dribbling down and out of his mouth. If that wasn't enough, he was also snoring, but his snores were a higher pitch than the rumbling thunder that was his godfather, sleeping a few rooms away with his girlfriend. Surprisingly, the other guest at the house wasn't disturbed, not by the noises made by the other occupants of the house. He was asleep.

But he wasn't sleeping as soundly as the others. He was unsettle and uneasy, tossing from side to side, moaning every time he ended up on his bad side, the side where his shoulder was dislocate. He wasn't a noisy sleeper, normally he wasn't even a sleeper at all. This was the first time he'd slept somewhere this warm, somewhere that felt safe. But it wasn't safe. He wasn't safe, not in his head, not in his nightmare, his nightmare once reality.

_He tried desperately not to scream. He couldn't, wouldn't, wouldn't, couldn't scream. It would only satisfy him. The monster. Or maybe it wasn't his father that was the monster. Maybe it was him. _

_The little redhead felt claustrophobia crowd his mind. He felt so trapped. It was so dark. He didn't like the dark. Something wet touched his hand and he recoiled, skidding away from the wall and pressing himself against the opposite wall. But there were items on the floor, sharp items and hard items, and his hands were cut up. He touched a hand with the oppposite one, feeling the cuts and feeling the slight sting. It was nothing compared to his other injuries. He was glad he could move at all. But then the darkness came back to him and he huddled against the wall, arms hugging himself. At least while he was moving it felt like he was going somewhere, like he was going away from the darkness, but now he felt like he was in a box again. He was scared. He was panicked, but he was forced to calm himself, breathe in breath out. _

Relax, Gaara. We're safe.

Safe?_ the little boy thought. _Yes, Gaara, we're safe. The darkness is safe and quiet. No one will hurt us here. I am safe in the darkness, and you are too. Remember. We're safe, in the darkness, together.

_That was the moment Gaara began to live in the darkness, taking comfort from it, because if Shukaku, the voice, was safe, than he was. The darkness was his refuge. The quiet and closed in spaces were his refuge. This thought, this realization was proven correct as the door opened. Light streamed in, but instead of a rush of relief, Gaara cringed away from the light. "Boy!" his father snapped, his hulking frame blocking the light. "You've been here long enough." Gaara shook his head without thinking. His father couldn't see him too well, but he caught the small, defiant movement. "You're defying me?" The redhead shook his head again, frantically, but it was too late. His punishment was set. _

Gaara woke up with blinding light in his face. His fists clenched and he rolled off the couch and landed into a crouch, a defensive position.

_Danger, _Shukaku whispered. _Where are we? _For a moment, Gaara wasn't too sure. But then he remembered.

"Naruto's house. We're at Naruto's house. We're safe," he sighed, trying to control his thumping heartbeat. Trying to keep himself in the present. He was safe. For a little while, at least.

"We?"

Gaara jumped and fell back against the couch. His eyes widened and he held his arms in front of his face. "Gaara, relax, it's only me, Naruto, remember me?" the cheerful, spike-headed blond said.

_Light. Light. _

"Turn off the light," Gaara snapped, Shukaku snapped. Naruto flicked the light switch off. He'd turned on the light in the first place, hearing Gaara whispering to himself and getting out of bed to investigate. When he'd gotten to the living room, he'd listened, in the dark, as Gaara muttered in his sleep. "I won't scream, I won't scream," Gaara had muttered. Naruto knew what he was dreaming, and he went to turn on the light. But what Gaara said next distracted him. "Darkness. Box. Help me, Shukaku."

Who was Shukaku?

Then Gaara had gasped and Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He would want to be woken up if he was in a nightmare and his redhead friend was obviously in a nightmare.

Now Naruto stood in the darkness again. He watched his friend lay on the ground, in a fetal curl, just lay there.

The blond took a step towards him, but-

"Go away."

The redhead didn't sound like himself. He sounded angrier and fiercer.

"I'm fine, Naruto," he said, his voice more like his normal voice. "Just... leave me," he said, voice as cold as the weather outside.

The blond stared at him for a moment. A smile widened on his face. That was the Gaara he knew.

"No way." Gaara stiffend as he heard Naruto continue to walk his way, but what was he going to do about it? This was Naruto's house. He felt the blond sit behind him and lean against the couch with a contented sigh. "You've got the right idea, Gaara, my floor's pretty comfortable," the blond said. He put his arms behind his head and nodded off in seconds. He was quick, deep sleeper and soon he was snoring as loudly as before. Something about the way he was breathing, the way he was snoring, wasn't obnoxious. It was comforting, comforting that he was there, so close by, close enough to touch. He wasn't alone. A week ago, this would've bothered him. But now... his eyes drifted closed.

**What's up? Hello, for those who are here for the first time, hi. Thanks for coming. **

**For those, following the story Gaara, thank you. I warn you, though, I'm probably going to change the name of Gaara. Actually, I'm definitely going to change it. So Favorite it or remember my name or you'll have to manually search for it. And I'm going to have to change the summary. The summary and the title suck at the moment. **

**Thanks for following to the sequel! **


	2. Snap Decisons Lead to Regret

When Gaara woke up, Naruto was on his lap, his head on his lap, his body slumped. Touching him. He shoved the blond violently off and scrabbled across the floor, trying to get as far away as possible. Human contact. His skin was tingling and he stared at Naruto, mind still feeling a little panicked. _Wait, it's Naruto. Friend. He's a friend, he won't hurt us. _Gaara relaxed and he slumped against the wall. His scar was tingling. He touched it without thinking, tracing the pattern and the shape. Memories came, unbidden, and he remembered the night he'd gotten that scar-

"Gaara?" Naruto said sleepily, his blue eyes only half opened. "Wha-? Oh I'm sorry, I must've... uh, fallen over, I guess." He stretched and looked at the clock hanging in the hallway. "Good God, Gaara, it's almost four in the morning. Go back to sleep. If I make you uncomfrotable or something, I'll sleep on that couch. Jiraiya doesn't like me sleeping on the couch 'cause I drool and stuff, look you can see the stains where I've drooled before-" Gaara really didn't want to handle Naruto's babbling right now.

"Naruto?"

"Uh-huh? What's up?"

"Shut up."

"Okay." Naruto quieted down, but it never lasted long and Gaara knew it. "Want something to eat?" Gaara shook his head. Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "Okay, I'm going to ask again: What do you want to eat?" Again, the redhead shook his head, feeling a headache creeping into his mind. "Gaara! You're going to eat! I never see you eat! Speaking of which, I didn't notice before, why are you sleeping in your clothes? Didn't Temari drop by with your stuff like your dad told her to?"

"Kankuro did," Gaara said. "Oh he did? Why didn't I see him?" Naruto asked. Because Gaara had sent him away as soon as he'd opened the door. Now that he was feeling better, more conscious, he didn't want to talk to Kankuro, or even look at him. If it had been Temari, he would've been and done the same. They were never there when he needed them. Temari had known, but had never told, and Kankuro had never been told, but should've known. Shukaku hated them both and honestly Gaara did too. They weren't family. They didn't feel like family. But then, what would he know about family? He'd never had a family. He'd killed his own mother, his father hated him and his siblings didn't care about him.

"Well, um, why didn't you change then?" Naruto asked after the silence had stretched on too long for his taste. Gaara wasn't sure how to answer. How could he tell Naruto that sleeping in his pajamas felt vulnerable? That he hadn't slept in pajamas since he was six? Since he'd gotten blood on his shirt, blood running in rivers down his pajama shirt? That he didn't like sleeping at all and how he slept in his street clothes in case he felt the urge to run away in the middle of the night, just escape it all? Which was often?

"I-"

"KEEP IT DOWN OUT THERE! Get out and do something, go play in the street or something, just quit your yapping!" Jiraiya yelled. "You're fairly loud yourself!" they heard Tsunade snap, though with less vigor than usual in the morning. "We'd better go downstairs," Naruto said, voice considerably lower than it had been. This done, it was still too loud for Gaara's taste. But any and every noise was too loud for Gaara's taste.

They walked downstairs, Naruto yawning and rubbing his eyes, Gaara wide awake and flexing his fist, trying to keep his hand from exploring his tingling scar.

"I-I'm tired," Naruto said, starting off the sentence with a yawn. "Man, why am I up this early? Who's up this early? It's so early." He went to his fridge and pulled out a carton off milk, drinking straight from it. Something that pissed Jiraiya off greatly, but the old pervert also told him to always drink his milk. The man couldn't have it both ways. He chugged it down and gulped hard, almost making himself vomit, but getting it down just the same. There. Now he felt refreshed. Not quite awake yet, but rejuvenated. He glanced across the counter at Gaara, who was leaning on it with his back to Naruto.

"Hey Gaara?"

He didn't expect a reply and got what he expected. Gaara didn't speak to him unless becessary or to insult him. Which was becoming more often.

"Do you want to go outside?"

This got Gaara's attention. The redhead turned and stared at Naruto. "Are you blind?" he asked, gesturing at the windows.

"Have you ever made a snowman before?"

"No and I won't, either."

"Aw, come on-"

"Naruto, I'm not going outside unless it's to shove your head into a snowdrift."

"That sounds fun!"

"Idiot."

Gaara refused point blank. Naruto pestered, but the redhead seemed to be done talking. No was no was no. He wouldn't.

Gaara hated snow. He actually hated any form of precipitation. He hated the chill and he hated the wet. Snow was a combination of the two, which made tham far worse. Cold. How he hated being cold. Cold, it was all he'd ever felt, all of his life, outside and inside. It was not something he'd willingly go outside and "play" in. He did watch as the blond fool went outside, the turned around and came straight back inside when he realized just how bad the weather is.

"I see why they cancelled school," Naruto panted, rubbing at his arms, which were scratched up from some vicious hail. "But, man, what are we going to do today? Oh wait, aren't you supposed to rest all day or something?" Gaara nodded. There's an excuse, why not use it? In perfect honesty, he'd already spent all day Sunday on Naruto's couch, staring at the wall, so he didn't have to today, but he didn't want to get up and active either.

"Hey, I have an idea. Let's go upstairs and bug-"

"No."

"But-"

"No. Tsunade will kill you and Jiraiya will put you up for adoption. If you're alive, that is."

"Well I gotta do something, otherwise I'll go bananas. Hey, I have another idea. Why don't I annoy you?"

"You'll find yourself locked outside in the ice storm for a few days."

"Ahh, that's cold, Gaara."

"Astute observation. How long did it take you to figure that out?"

"Argh, we've got to do something! Why'd you wake me up so early? Now I'm up and I can't do anything! I'm not the lazy kind, I can't just sit home and do nothing like Shikamaru, I have to get out and do something bad! Or anything, really! It doesn't have to be legal, just something!" Gaara shook his head at the loud blond. If he kept going at it like that, he was going to annoy-

"NARUTO! SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE-"

Naruto quieted down, but he was still pouting. He was about to throw a fit, Gaara realized. And wake up Tsunade and then Jiraiya and get them upset and we'll be trapped in this house with two fuming adults and a bored Naruto. That was the worst scenario he could come up with. And worse, it looked like it would be inevitable. It would be inevitable. He'd be stuck. Damn.

Thankfully, Naruto came up with a great idea, just then.

"Hey Gaara, let's go piss off Sasuke. He lives really close, like a minute away, if you're running. Seriously, I could find his house blindfolded, it's really close, believe it! Come on, let's go! Gaara was going to say no, tell him he could go alone, but at that moment, he heard Jiraiya getting up and he had a bad feeling about that the old man was going to come downstairs and happily strangle both of them. He made a snap decision. "Fine."

"YAY!"

Later, Gaara would regret his decision deeply.

**Hello readers/reviewers. Thanks to all of you for getting to chapter 2. **

**See ya' later, I hope. **


	3. A Familiar Redhead

No, scratch that. Gaara wasn't going to regret his decison _later. _He was already regretting it _now. _

_Now _as he made his way through the snow and the ice forming on his clothing. He squinted, trying to keep his eyes open against the beating elements. Stupid wind, stupid cold, stupid Naruto. He had Kankuro's too-big-for-him jacket wrapped around him, the coat tail flapping in the weather. He was trying his best to use his legs to plow through the snow, but now his jeans were soaked to his skin. If he made it through this alive, he was going to kill Naruto and hide his body in a snowdrift. There were plenty of choices.

He'd forced Naruto to stay home for at least two more hours before they could even think of going to Sasuke's house. Gaara knew that the blond would be tolerable as long as he knew he was going to do something later. And he was right, Naruto wasn't quite as loud and he kept his antsy-pants ADHD energy repressed for those two hours. Unfortunately, he used the energy he normally had for yelling and fidgeting for making Gaara eat an apple.

"Come on, Gaara, don't make me yell!" Naruto has exclaimed in a determined whisper. "Do I have to tie you down?" Gaara threw him a try-it-and-you-die look, but the blond was adamant. "Food is good. Say it with me. Food is good. Food is yummy. I like food. Believe it," Naruto giggled. He started to chuckle, but Gaara punched his gut. It was a light hit and Naruto wasn't intimidated at all. "Come on, Gaarie," he cooed. Gaara was sorely tempted to hit him again, but this time harder. "Come on, Gaara, please? Just an apple or something? You're injured, you shouldn't be moving at all, the least you could do is keep your strength up with an apple or something, anything." Gaara scowled. And who was it making him walk to _whose_ friend's house?

Gaara squeezed his eyes shut and stopped completely as an icy wind blew again. He opened his eyes in a squint and looked around for the blond fool.

Naruto didn't seem affected at all, which immediately pissed off the redhead. He didn't even look cold. His face was a little flushed, but he was grinning as wide as the moon and he was kicking up snow. As if he wasn't pissed off enough, at one point, Naruto kicked up a big chunk into the air and the wind swirled it up high. It hit Gaara, who stumbled back at the icy surprise hitting his face. He scraped it off his face in disgust and scowled at Naruto. "Quit it," he said. Naruto couldn't hear him, but Gaara didn't want to scream, so let it drop. That is, until Naruto did it again. "Naruto, quit it," he said, grabbing the blond's shoulder and pulling him closer while speaking as loud as he could into his ear.

Naruto got a mischevious look on his face.

**Switching POV's to everyone fav Uchiha. Or is it most hated Uchiha? Sasuke's POV**

Sasuke looked up in irritation and was surprised to see a familiar redhead walk into his house, yanking the door shut, accidently sweeping snow into his house, on to his carpet. "Sasori? Why are you here?" Sasuke asked. "It's Mr.-" "Not outside class and inside my own home," Sasuke retorted. Sasori shrugged and went into his kitchen. "Hey, Deidara's not here, is he?"

"At six in the morning? The lazy ass won't be up for another five hours, at least." Sasori paused, as if he was going to reprimand Sasuke for insulting his friend/enemy, then just shrugged it off.

"Where are your mom and dad?"

"Dad left really early, at like four or something. Says there was a problem at the firm. I don't know why he'd leave so damn early though. Mom left a few minutes ago to go, I don't know, talk to the flowers in her shop or something."

"And Itachi?"

"Doing something in his room."

"Well I didn't come here to talk to you," the red-haired teacher said. He walked passed the couch and began to climb the stairs.

Sasuke watched him. In Art class, he was quiet, unless he was arguing with Deidara, and always seemed on the brink of crying with his sad face. When he was with Itachi, he seemed more talkative. A little. They must be friends. It was creepy, though. Itachi was a senior and his friends were all older than him. How strange. But then, Itachi's a genius, Sasuke thought. He's smarter than him and Deidara combined. Sasuke wasn't sure if he was proud of his brother or jealous that he had older friends, teacher friends, as a senior.

He contemplated this, but soon had other things to distract him.

Mainly, the sound of something pounding on his door.

He groaned, but got up. Maybe Deidara was here. Maybe he wasn't as lazy as the time he came running to Itachi's house in his pajamas at lunchtime or maybe-

It was Naruto. The blond hammered on the door frantically. Wham! Wham! Wham! How annoying, Sasuke thought, in the morning. As punishment, he went to the door slow as possible and unlocked the door carefully, smiling as he heard the howling wind and saw the hail/ice beating on the windows. "Why are you so fucking loud?" Sasuke complained over the storm to Naruto. "Let me in, let me in, let me in!" the blond yelled excitedly. "Gaara's gonna-"

Whatever Gaara was going to do, happened in the next second.

One second the blond was about to knock him over trying to get in his house, the next second, he was flying sideways, into the porch railing.

"Asshole."

**I'm sorry, but I still have finals. So, having problems updating. **


	4. Playing With Fire

Gaara spluttered through a mouthful of dirty snow. It was cold, but it burned at the same time. It left a stinging taste afterwards and he tried to spit the taste out of his mouth, but 1) the snow itself was gone, so the taste would linger as long as it wanted and 2) every time he opened his mouth, he felt more of the ice on his tongue, which was good is he wanted to get that dirt taste out of his mouth. He had to just shut his mouth and try to endure until the remaining snow melted. It was easier to endure when he had a goal in mind, though and he quickly sought this goal: kill Naruto.

The blond had the nerve to laugh at him, over the roaring storm, then run off into the white blur of landscape. It took a second for the redhead to process this before charging after him. If he couldn't see the blond, he could hear his bizarre laughter, which fueled his rage. The blond was going to get it. He was going to get what he had coming to him. Gaara didn't have to chase him long (a good thing too, his ribs were killing him the longer he went), and when he heard loud knocking, he followed the noise up the porch, presumably Sasuke's, sliding slightly on the icy, slicked steps.

"Gaara's gonna-" Gaara finished Naruto's sentence for him. He got behind him and swung his fist in a hook punch, a solid hit. Naruto's head snapped sideways and his body followed. His head bashed against the porch railing and he slumped down like a rag doll. "Asshole," Gaara said, crossing his arms. "I'm gonna assume it was well-deserved, so I won't judge," Sasuke shrugged. "Nice hit." Gaara nodded, then winced as hail scratched his face. The wind was louder than before, if possible, and Sasuke had to scream to be heard. "As much as I'd like to, we can't leave Naruto out here. Help me drag him?" He didn't wait for a response before grabbing Naruto's arms. Gaara didn't want to (serve the fool right if he got frostbite), but he did grab Naruto's legs and together they hauled his K.O.'d body into the house, then dropped him in front of the fireplace.

The youngest Uchiha sat on his couch. Gaara, covered in snow and ice, shed Kankuro's coat, but was still soaking wet. "You can put that in the sink or something," Sasuke said, noticing the amount of snow on it. Enough to make a good sized puddle in his living room. Gaara nodded and held it gingerly as he walked to the nearest bathroom, easily identifiable with it's door thrown wide open, and dumped it in the tub. He hated snow. Why had he listened to Naruto again?

"Want a fire?" Sasuke asked after the silence dragged on uncomfortably. Gaara, who'd been enjoying the silence from his perch on the ground, nodded. Any extra warmth was appreciated, he thought, pulling up the wet edges of his jeans. But then he felt guilty. Whenever he had thoughts of making himself more comfortable in any way, no matter how small, he always felt selfish. He always felt like he was asking for too much. For him, just being alive was too much.

Sasuke grabbed a pack of matches and fumbled with the lid. He fished one out of dozens and started one. A few seconds later, Gaara heard a door swing open upstairs and the floorboards creak as someone ran across them. He looked up and saw a boy who looked very much like an older, more tired and mature version of Sasuke. "What are you doing?" the older Sasuke demanded. "Lighting a fire. Not illegal now, is it?" Sasuke asked. "Little boys who play with fire get burned. And then their older brothers have to clean up the mess," the older Sasuke said. "How did you know I was setting a fire from up there?" Sasuke asked. "I can smell the smoke pretty easily," Itachi said. His eyes went from the burning match between Sasuke's fingers to Gaara.

"Wow, who's your hot young friend?"

"Hot? Oh, this is Gaara Sabaku."

"Sabaku?" A new voice joined the conversation.

It sounded familiar. Gaara looked up, and leaning on the railing was an older looking version of himself. One of his Art teacher's. The quieter one, when it came to talking about things besides his "art is eternal" view point. Sasori. "Gaara Sabaku? Oh that one," Itachi said. Gaara's eyes narrowed. Had they been talking about him or something? Sasuke also heard the slight suggestion in his brother's voice. "What do you mean 'that one'? Are you talking about kids when you come over and hide up in Itachi's room? That's kind of creepy."

"We're not talking about your amazing art skills, trust that, Sasuke," Sasori said smoothly.

Sasuke flushed and shut his mouth. Gaara enjoyed seeing him get a put down a little too much. Someone else giggled. Naruto was awake. "Wow, was I hit by a truck?" he asked, rubbing the bump on the side of his head. "Close," Sasuke said, gladly diverting his embarrassment into his normal satirical energy, making himself feel in control again. He hated losing verbal matches, especially with teachers. "Gaara punched you and I don't know why, but I'm sure it was justified, so I didn't retaliate." Naruto groaned, whether responding to what he said, or just responding to the painful bump on his head. He rubbed his head again and looked around.

"Oh, so you guys dragged me in here? You do care," he said, smiling. "Care about being charged for murder," Sasuke grumbled at him.

"Is this how nice you are to all of your friends?" Itachi asked.

"It's how nice I am to you, isn't it?" Sasuke replied. They all interpreted that differently. Naruto thought Sasuke was being mean, but not that malevolent kind of mean, just that brotherly kind of teasing mean. Gaara heard an implied affection underneath the harsh sounding words. Itachi heard an implied connection between the words "nice to you" and "friends", like Sasuke was calling him a friend and Sasori thought it was insulting, since Sasuke didn't seem to be nice to any of his friends, especially not his brother.

In short, they weren't sure if he was making a joke or insulting his brother or both.

"Next time you think of a comeback, make sure it's not controversial in its meaning, all right, baby bro?" Itachi said.

"What does controversial mean?" Naruto asked Gaara.

"Disputable."

"And that means?"

"Debatable. You can argue about it."

"It's not contro-whatever," Naruto called. "Gee, I thought you were a genius, Itachi. It's not controvertal, er, something, I thought it was perfectly clear."

"You're right, Naruto, and you prove my point. If Naruto understands it, then it must be a babbling mess."

Naruto glared at him, but it wasn't a real glare. The kind of glare a puppy dog would give you.

Sasori just turned and left the conversation. Itachi noticed immediately and started to follow him, but paused. "Oh, and Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Your match is gone." Suddenly, Sasuke noticed how hot his fingers were feeling. His match was burning, the little flame very close to his fingers and he threw the now completely charred remains of the match into the fireplace where it sizzled. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" he grumbled, glaring at Gaara and Naruto. "I did, didn't I?" Itachi grinned, then running before Sasuke could yell something at him. "Sorry, Sauce, I didn't see it," Naruto complained. Gaara said nothing. He'd seen it, but he was curious to see if Sasuke would. Not a chance.

He had been distracted the moment Itachi had come into the room.

**Formality: Hello. My name is witchdoctr. It is so nice to meet you. Thanks for coming to read and please review. **

**Warning: I will not be able to update too quickly, since it is the end of the year and teachers seem to enjoy putting a lot of homework on us, even though it is almost the end of the year. **

**Question: What do you think of this chapter? I know Itachi is OOC, but he is because I wanted him to be the teasing, older brother. So that is how he shall be. **

**This is just Me without the Formalities: What's up? Hi, guys, nice of you to read, thanks to all the reviewers, the new reviewers and the old reviewers from the first story. You rock for coming and/or for coming this far! (Do people still say rock or has it been converted to "awesome?") **

**Special Thanks to: **

**DarkAngelJudas: my first reviewer, for still being here and still reviewing. **

**NeoAddctee:for reviewing, I know you don't like to. **

**HeartsNaruto: you've reviewed all of my Naruto fics and deserve honorable mention. **

**And new reviewer: Table for Two, thanks for the long review and hope to see you sometime! **

**And for those unmentioned: thanks for caring and reviewing. Reviews keep the creativity going strong. And now I'm done being a mushy person. **


	5. Talks Behind Closed Doors

Back at the ranch, Tsunade hit Jiraiya with a pillow.

"Wake up, you lazy old coot!"

"Who are you calling old? Kidding, kidding," Jiraiya added hastily. "What time is it?"

"About seven."

"Well in that case-"

"Don't go back to sleep, I have something to talk to you about."

Jiraiya grumbled like an old man, but he did sit up grudgingly and look at her with half-opened eyes. "What about?" he yawned. "Gaara."

The name woke him up entirely. Tsunade had been trying to talk to him about the kid all yesterday, but they'd never had the oppurtunity until now. Gaara or Naruto had always been in earshot. Now they were gone and she could discuss the redhead without unwelcome ears listening in. "What about him?" "Let me finish," she said irritably. "I told you he was staying over because he was injured, remember?" Jiraiya nodded. "And you didn't think that was a little strange?"

"Um, I did, but I thought it was because Naruto threatened you or something."

"Well he called me saying Gaara was injured. He sounded upset and that kid is never upset. So I was intrigued. I wasn't aware Gaara was even his friend. I mean, I've seen Naruto annoy him, but I've never actually seen them as "friends", you know? But then, I never would have." Before Naruto had started highschool, she'd mostly heard about him from Jiraiya and from these entertaining conversations, she would ascertain that she didn't want to be seeing him in her office. Well, it didn't work like that. Hell, Tsunade remembered the first day of school, Naruto got a detention on the one day she'd thought it was imppossible to get a detention on. She had even bet against it with Jiraiya. And lost, of course. She had known him by word, not by face, then.

Now she saw him every goddamned week and Tsunade would never bet against his ability to cause trouble ever again.

The blond shook her head and forced herself back into the present day conversation.

"I was curious, especially when he said mentioned Gaara being injured and it being Kankuro's fault. I came here and treated him and learned a few facts that Naruto neglected to mention, even covering up: he was beaten, heavily, and in not-so-obvious places. Who would target places on the body that would hurt, but be unseen? Someone close to him, who was around him more than a few minutes each day. If it was someone with a grudge, they would've just hit him, then run away. Besides, Gaara could hold his own against Sasuke Uchiha, he wouldn't lose a fight so easily and let himself get pounded this badly by a stranger or an enemy. At first, I suspected Kankuro, but the force behind the hits was too powerful to be done by a sophomore, even a sophomore on the football team."

"The answer was right in front of me. Like literally, the answer knocked on my door. Do you know Kaze Sabaku?"

"I write books for a living, I don't make it my business to go everywhere and meet people," Jiraiya grumbled. "I guess he's Gaara's father?"

"Right. It was him. I know it was, I can tell. I didn't call him up that time because he was right there in the room and might get violent," Tsunade explained.

"So what? You could snap his arm in about two seconds," Jiraiya shrugged. His girlfriend threw him an annoyed look. "I was worried about the children and what they would think of their principal beating up the student's parents. I know my strengths, thank you very much, Jiraiya. I decided to let the police handle it-" "No!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "Are you crazy? They won't listen unless there's evidence."

"There's plenty of evidence," Tsunade said heatedly. "I-"

"There's plenty of _speculation," _Jiraiya sighed. "I'm glad you didn't call the police. They would've questioned Kaze, who'd deny it and come up with some excuse, then Gaara's siblings, who probably wouldn't have said anything, then Gaara himself, who suffers the abuse and is probabaly too scared of his father to tell someone, else he would've done it already. It would've told Sabaku that you were on to him, and who knows what would've happened after that?"

Tsunade paused. The only reason she hadn't pounded Kaze Sabaku's face in was because she was hoping to call the police and have him legally punished. It was the only reason she'd waited 'till today. She'd wanted to tell Jiraiya, hear him agree with her, then tell the police and spit in Sabaku's face. But here her old boyfriend wasn't agreeing with her. But now she was sensing truth to his words. Perhaps he was right.

"Maybe you're right," she said, giving him some credit. "Maybe we need more evidence. Ugh, I want to just grab his neck and... errggghhh, you should've seen how horrible Gaara looked, the things Naruto used to cover them up didn't hide them from me." Jiraiya patted her back. "I know how hard this is for you, not to beat up this scumbag when he deserves it. Self-control was the best decision and I'm glad you exercised it-" Tsunade didn't let him finish. "Are you saying I lack self-control?" she asked him.

"No! Let me finish, Tsunade, what I meant-"

"Ah, shut up, who made you some sage, you old pervert?" she thumped his head lightly with her fist. "You know you can't sleep all day, right?"

"Says who?"

* * *

><p>Naruto still rubbed his head. He'd changed out of his wet clothes and was now wearing one of Itachi's old sweaters. "This is gross," he said, wrinkling his nose. "Uh, it smells." "Liar," Sasuke said. "Itachi's an OCD neat freak, remember? He probably cleaned that thing a dozen times before even considering giving it to me. It's big, but he cleaned it so much it shrunk to your size."<p>

As for Gaara, he just leaned against the end of Sasuke's bed, from the ground. Naruto and Sasuke were both on their stomachs, watching the TV across from Sasuke's bed, standing on a wooden dresser. Gaara really didn't see how this was any different than staying at home where it was dry, but after a while, he did notice a change in Naruto's attitude. Oh sure, he was happy, but he was always happy. No, Gaara could sense another emotion underneath, a second layer. A layer he didn't have around anyone else.

It wasn't his usual kind of energy, it was like a glow, like one of those feelings that couldn't be expressed, but _felt_. Gaara didn't think he could explain it, but he did know that Naruto appreciated the raven's company and braved a vicious storm to come and do what he could've done at home. That was real commitment to friends, Gaara thought. Naruto never had that glow when he was around _him_. But that was to be expected. Who would have a glow around him?

"Hey Gaara." The redhead was shaken out of his thoughts. Naruto didn't wait for a response, since he knew Gaara wouldn't reply anyway, just like he knew Gaara was listening, even if he wasn't replying. If that made any sense. "You should change, seriously, you're dripping alll over Sasuke's floor. I bet you've got a puddle and it's leaking through. Seriously, here, take this and change your shirt at least."

Gaara was blinded briefly as something fell over his face. He pulled it from his face and inspected it. It smelt kind of strange.

"Go, go, go! Go change!" Gaara squinted at him. The blond was way too eager to get him out of his room. What was up? Gaara stood up, though, and left the room slowly, closing the door quietly behind him, but not before saying, "whatever you're going to say behind my back, make it quick."

"I will, believe it!"

**Formality: Hello. Thanks you for reviewing, my name is... screw this, what's up, readers? Thanks for getting this far and/or for reviewing! **

**Welcome Battenburg507. **


	6. Truth Revealed So Inelegantly

**Oh shit, did I mention that I don't own Naruto? Why didn't anyone tell me? I totally could've gotten sued and my computer could've gotten confiscated and then who'd update? **

"Gaara's dad abuses him." Naruto got straight to the point and just blabbed. He really did like to take the cake.

"I'm sorry, what?" Sasuke wondered if he'd heard right. It sounded so matter-of-fact, unusual for Naruto. And a little ridiculous on him, to be honest.

"Gaara's dad abuses him."

Sasuke stared at his blond friend for a moment. "Is this a joke? Because that's really poor taste, even for you."

"I mean it, I wouldn't joke about something like this, I swear, I saw it myself!"

"What do you mean you 'saw it', what have you been doing?"

Naruto explained how he'd spent his weekend after his party on Friday. He explained everything he'd seen and did and Sasuke listened without visibly reacting. Naruto explained how he'd followed Gaara to his house and after meeting Gaara's father and sophomore brother, he snuck in through the backyard. He climbed a few trees, then jumped through the nearest window, which had been, thankfully, open, though for some bizarre reason there had been a blackout curtain across it. Here, Naruto strayed a little off topic. Who opens a window, just to pull a curtain over it? Seriously, that's just weird, believe it! Sasuke punched his arm and told him to get on with it.

So he did, basically repeating all of chapters 30-40 of the first story, which you should've read before reading this...get back with the present, witchdoctr. All right, all right.

"And now Gaara's staying with me for a week at least. I'm personally hoping his father gets drunk and drives his car off a bridge."

Sasuke stared at the blond, eyes slightly squinted. "That's... hard to believe," he said finally. "It's not that bad, he deserves it, you should've seen-"

"I didn't mean about that, I mean about Gaara being... you know. I mean, I believe you and all," the raven added hastily, noticing Naruto's ready-to-explode-in-fury face. "It's just... hard to believe. He's always so quiet one second, then all furious the next, I guess I understand. But if that's the case, maybe you should stay away from him, Naruto." The blond's reaction was expected. "WHAT?"

At that moment, the object of their discussion slunk back into the room. His head was down, face hidden by brick-red hair. Sasuke saw him in a whole different light now, a whole different image. There had been something wrong, he'd know, but he hadn't bothered to pay much attention to it. It was so obvious. Why hadn't he noticed it? Oh yeah. Apathy.

"I hope you're done now," he said. Naruto glared at Sasuke.

Gaara had just spent a good ten minutes in the bathroom, pulling at the low neckline of the shirt, presumably Sasuke's. It was too big for him, but then, maybe he was too small and thin. He sighed. Nothing he could do about it. He was relieved, though, to get out of his soaking shirt and change into a warmer one. Even if it sagged. He pulled at it once again, then shrugged. The shirt slipped down, barely hanging onto his shoulders. Whatever. Naruto and Sasuke had had enough time to whisper and talk about him. Or whatever.

Now he eyed the two. They were tense. What had they been talking about? What had gotten them both bristling?

He took a few steps closer and Naruto looked at him, breaking his vicious staring contest with Sasuke. He grinned, but it was a little strained. There was still anger in his eyes and Gaara again wondered what had riled him up. No point in asking. The blond had a short attention span. He'd probably forget in the hour.

The redhead was wrong.

Naruto got on the floor and sat next to him. He refused to look at Sasuke and the feeling was apparently mutual, as Sasuke wouldn't glance in his direction either.

What was up with them?

At one point after a few hours of mindless television, Naruto's stomach rumbled.

At this point, he was willing to forgive Sasuke. If the raven gave him a bowl of ramen or something before he went cannibal and ate him.

"That's creepy," Sasuke said. "Come on, loser."

"It's for your good, not mine," Naruto joked. "Come on, Gaara, I'm sure you're hungry, you only ate an apple this morning. And if you're not sure, well I'll make you _sure!" _

"That sounds like a threat," Gaara rasped. I wish you could've seen Naruto's face. "No, no, I was just kidding, seriously, you know that right? Right, Sasuke?"

"He sounded serious," Sasuke said. "Bastard!"

But Naruto wasn't willing to egg on a fight until he was fed properly. Sasuke didn't have any Ramen, but he did have hot soup, which was fun to eat in front of the downstairs television, next to the fireplace. Naruot burned his tongue gulping it down without even blowing on it first. He began to yelp and ran back and forth comically. "Where's the water, where's the water? Someone tell me before I stick my head down a toilet!" he panicked. Man, that soup was boiling.

"Just get tap water," Sasuke yelled, laughing as Naruto tripped over the small stair seperating the hallway between the kitchen and the living room.

Naruto did and all they heard from him a for a few minutes was gurgling and gasping and swearing. "Clean out that dirty mouth," Sasuke called cheerfully. "You're... one...to... talk," Naruto said between gulps. He wiped his chin off with his sleeve and poked his head around the kitchen wall seperating him from the main hallway. "Hey Sasuke? A word?" Sasuke sighed and put down his bowl. He glanced down at Gaara, who didn't look at him. The redhead had dipped a spoon in occasionally, but he hadn't eaten any of the food in it. "Hey Gaara?" The owner of the name glanced up.

"Eat. Now. Don't let it go to waste, you hear?" Sasuke made his voice sharp and demanding, like he'd heard Itachi do so many times to him before. Like he'd heard parents say to their children. He'd seen in the cafeteria how little Gaara ate. He'd seen Gaara's outline, how thin it was, and right now he could see Gaara's bony shoulders and the begininng of a bruise on his collarbone. He needed to eat something. Sasuke didn't really like the redhead, but he could sympathize. He could understand, could at least try better to understand Gaara. Try to help him. And the first step to helping him was getting him to eat. Well it wasn't the first step and it wasn't the most important, but it was definitely a step.

But Sasuke wasn't going to do a Naruto. He wasn't going to pester and coax gently. He was going to make the redhead eat. Even if he had to be harsh and imitate his parents, trying to scare Gaara into eating.

It worked.

In a way that made Sasuke wish he'd done something different.

Gaara tensed and his fist clenched. He reached for his spoon and began to eat, looking pained with every bite. Tense. Afraid. Of what? Maybe Sasuke hadn't imitated _his _parents; maybe he'd imitated Gaara's father. And maybe he was remembering. Maybe he thought if he didn't eat, he'd be punished. Maybe, maybe, maybe. There was one "definitely", though. He had "definitely" gone on with this the wrong way. _But he's eating, isn't he?_ Sasuke asked himself. _It doesn't matter why, so long as he's eating something. _

"Sasuke, come on!"

The raven sighed, but he did go to his kitchen. Gaara finished his soup.

_You're pathetic. Look at you, like a stray cat. This displeases me, Gaara. Eat! Stop wasting my money! If I had my way, you wouldn't get anything, but if you don't eat, you'll die. It would be better for us all, but it's illegal, unfortunately. Child neglect. But you're not a child, are you? You're a monster. Why am I wasting food on _you?

He didn't want to eat it, but he had to. That was his only thought. Memories unbidden flashed before his eyes and as soon as Sasuke left the room, his stomach began to churn.

"What?" Sasuke asked. The blond grabbed his arm. "You asshole! You bastard, you jackass, you stupid, fuc-"

"What's your problem?" Sasuke said, cutting his dirty tirade. "You! You, you stupid asshole! How could you suggest something like that? Stay away from him? I'm sure at all of his past schools, that's what they did. I'm sure they did nothing, I bet they ran away from him. I bet-" Sasuke didn't feel like hearing one of his passionate speeches today. "Shut up! Let me explain. What I mean, was that, Gaara might be a bit of a messed up kid and while I agree, that yes, you should help him, I just don't think you should be the one. We should call social services or something. Jeez, don't fucking blow a gasket, 'kay?"

"I'll blow as many gaskets I want, whatever they are! I'm the only one who cares, so I'm gonna do it!"

"All right, all right, don't fucking bite my head off, I was just-"

"Taking the easy way out," Naruto yelled at him. "Gaara's a kid too-"

"I know that."

"He has feelings too-"

"Yeah, knew that too, get to the point, will you?"

"My point is that I don't like that you're going to give up on him without even starting. He's probably gotten that his whole life. Else someone would've done something about... you know, by now."

Silence. Sasuke wanted to tell him that he'd managed to get the redhead to eat more than an apple, but now didn't seem to be the right time.

Since the silence was broken by quiet retching coming from the living room.

"Gaara!"

**Whew. Hello. Witchdoctr here. Who else is here? **

**Thanks so much to my many reviewers. I never expected this story to have this many reviews or chapters. **

**Speaking of which, is this too long? I would not be offended if you told me that the first story wore you out with the seemindly endless chapter after chapter after chapter, then found out there was sequel. Just tell me if you think it's getting to boring or going in circles or something. **

**See you later. When I'm finally on vacation, I'll probably be able to update quicker. **


	7. Truth Revealed By Accident

Gaara didn't make it to the bathroom. He only made it half way there and puked on the hallway carpet, leaning over and falling onto all fours. "Urgh!" Naruto exclaimed. "Gross!" Gaara got back up, but his stomach was curling and churning. He held a hand over his mouth and stepped over his own vomit and dashed to the bathroom. Sasuke and Naruto followed him, the blond slipping a little in the what-used-to-be-soup vomit. It was gross. Naruto had _had _it with slipping in vomit. He managed to keep himself from falling flat on his face in the puddle and nimbly ran passed Sasuke.

"Gaara, you okay?" The redhead got to the bathroom and slammed the door shut, barely missing Naruto's nose. "Gaara! Wait! You okay?" Naruto yelled through the door. "What... do you think?" he heard, in reply. Gaara's voice was rather shaky. Naruto resisted the urge to vomit as he heard more retching. "Gaara, are you bulimic?" There was a pause. Naruto waited for Gaara's response. "No."

"Are you anemic?"

"Anemic?" Sasuke frowned. "I think that's the word for low iron in your blood or something. Like lack of red blood cells or something."

"Ah, I hate these stupid medical names! Um... Anorexic, that's it! Are you anorexic?"

The door opened.

Gaara looked sick, but that was expected since he'd just "sicked" the toilet. Naruto peered around him, with a sudden gross desire to see his vomit, but Gaara shut the door firmly. "I'm fine," he rasped. "No you're not, you just vomited in the toilet," Naruto argued. "I drank the soup too fast. It was almost boiling and-" there was pounding footsteps, cutting off his reply. "Hey! Hey! Is everyone okay?" Itachi asked. Sasori was behind him, though he didn't really look like he care much.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, scowling at him. "Bit slow, aren't you?"

Itachi ignored the insult and looked at each one of them. "I bet I can guess which one of you was vomiting."

"Gaara," Sasuke and Naruto said together. "Hey, I said I could guess, I didn't tell you to tell me. Gee. Gaara, you okay?

"Fine."

"How's the toilet?"

"Shut up. Who made you babysitter, anyway?"

"You did, when you act like a baby."

Sasuke lunged at Itachi. The eldest Uchiha easily shoved him to the ground as he passed by. "Hey, Gaara, right? Listen, did you get vomit on Sasuke's shirt?" Gaara looked down, the flushed. He had. How disgusting. He actually felt sick, seeing it on his shirt. He had the urge to throw up again, but he gulped it down. Which made him feel sicker. "Take it off," Itachi commanded him. Gaara flinched. "I wasn't yelling at you, I was... uh, just, uh, going to clean it, relax," Itachi said.

Gaara pulled his shirt off carefully, avoiding the wets spots and pulling the cloth away from his skin.

"Gaara, what happened to you?"

Gaara froze. Oh shit. He'd forgotten.

Shit's about to hit the fan, Naruto thought, biting his lip, eyes widening.

**Know it's short, but having difficulties with my computer. Seemed best to tell you by updating. In case this computer fails on me, then you'll know that if I haven't updated for a week, that it's my damn computer. **


	8. Playing the Victim: I Don't Need Pity

**I don't own YouTube.**

Gaara was about to yank his shirt back down, to hide his shame, but an idea came to him. It would be suspicious if he looked like he was trying to hide it.

"An accident," he said. "I fell from a tree in my backyard." It was a better lie than Temari had come up with. However, anyone who knew him, knew he didn't do much physical activity.

"A tree? Ouch," Itachi said. "Looks pretty bad." Not nearly as bad as it had before Tsunade had treated him. The bruises faded unnaturally quick, probably because his skin was abused constantly. They were harder to see and the shapes were fuzzier now. They could've been from tree branches. They could've been from rocks in his backyard. They could've been anything now. Maybe Itachi would believe it. "It was Naruto's fault," Gaara said. Said blond looked at him quickly, but he neither confirmed, nor denied, wating to see what the redhead was doing.

"Naruto was stuck in one of my backyard trees and I had to get him down-" now he faltered. The lie had started off as a good idea, but now he didn't know where to go with it. And Itachi's eyes were friendly, but suspicious.

_This isn't going anywhere. _

_Shukaku?_

_What are you doing here, Gaara? Your secret is coming out. Why? Because you're friends with the blond. I know, I know I told you he could be trusted, but that's the problem. He's too trusting, cares too much with a lack of brain and power. He probably told Tsunade already and she'll tell Jiraiya, and now Itachi and Sasori know. The principal, a teacher, a senior, probably Sasuke, that's what he and Naruto were talking about behind your back, I'll wager and the list will grow if you keep this friendship up. I'm sorry, Gaara, but no one can protect you but me. The rest of them will only bring trouble. You see? I leave you for a brief time with him, without me, and the secret is out. And you know what _he _will do, don't you? _

_Who can save you but me? _

_No one. _

"Yeah, I'm dead clumsy at tree-climbing. You would've laughed your ass off if you'd seen me, too bad no one taped it and put it on YouTube. Wouldn't that have been funny? I mean, I saw a video on YouTube where a guy was trying to climb a tree and he fell and I was laughing so hard, but I wasn't laughing when I did the same thing. Gaara got up and grabbed my ankle and yanked me down and off the branch. He grabbed my arm and yanked me onto his branch. Man, he has the thickest trees in his backyard. Good thing, too, or I'd be a smear in Gaara's backyard. Only problem was, I flailed and slipped and knocked him off the branch instead. Totally my fault. I'm so stupid."

Gaara barely paid Naruto's babbling any attention. He appreciated the blond's cover up, though and he watched Itachi's reaction. Was he buying it? Naruto was a babbling brook of random consciousness. When he started babbling, it was considered normal. Maybe this was convincing Itachi, his babble. At the very least, the Uchiha looked pained after a few minutes. "Okay, okay, that's great and all. Sasuke, lend him another shirt, I'll go burn this."

Sasuke didn't like taking orders from his brother, but this time there was no point in being defiant. Gaara handed him the shirt, making sure to keep hands well away from the stains. Itachi reached for it, then drew back. "Ew," he said. He took a deep breath and tried again. "Urgh, it smells like shit," Itachi exhaled, withdrawing his hand again. "I don't want to touch it, I don't want to touch it." Sasori sighed and grabbed it himself. "Where do you want to burn this?"

While they got that settled, Gaara and Sasuke went upstairs to get him a shirt. Naruto started to go with them, but he was soon eraptured with the idea of burning the shirt. "Why would you burn it, not clean it?" he asked. "I'm not letting my little brother walk around wearing puke. For one thing, that's disgusting. For another, the stain will last forever. Just look at the carpet. It'll be stained forever. Speaking of that, you're the guest, so you get to clean that up." Naruto's face twisted into disgust. "Yeah, you brought him here, so it's your privilege."

While Naruto grumbled to himself and cleaned it up, feeling like he was going to vomit himself, Sasuke rifled through his drawers for a shirt small enough to fit Gaara.

"You know, don't you?" Sasuke paused. "Here, this should fit you," he said, tossing a shirt on the bed. Gaara stared at him for a moment. Then he took the shirt and gingerly pulled it over his head. He still felt sore. Not nearly as much, but still enough to make any movement hurt. He could almost believe he'd fallen out of a tree. If he hadn't known what had really happened. He wondered if Sasuke knew or if he believed the tree story. Probably not. Naruto had-

"Naruto told me."

Yeah. The blond had. Shukaku was pissed that the blond would betray them, but Gaara knew he and his best friends didn't hide much from each other.

_That's not an excuse. He's your friend too, but now he's making trouble. _

"That's what Naruto does," Gaara replied without thinking. Then he realized and wanted to hit himself. He had replied to Shukaku out loud. And he thought Naruto was the idiot.

It turns out, though, that his words fit the conversation just fine and Sasuke didn't suspect that he'd been talking to anyone but him.

"Naruto is full of hot air. He can't keep it in."

_That's a problem. If he can't control his tongue, he's going to kill us. _

"But he'll keep it a secret. He just told me because... we're friends. And maybe I can help," Sasuke said, his voice unsure.

"You weren't so keen on that a few weeks ago, were you?" Shukaku snapped through Gaara. The redhead's fists clenched. It had been awhile since he'd felt alive like this. Shukaku had been gone for a while. It felt good to have him back. Comfortable. Familiar. Not like Naruto. Gaara didn't feel like he and Naruto belonged in the same world. Everything just worked out for Naruto. Everything would always be great for him, he'd always be happy, even when he shouldn't be. Maybe it was his attitude? All Gaara knew about it was that whatever Naruto did, wouldn't work for him.

"I-"

"You didn't know. But suddenly I'm a victim and now you're all friendly? You can play Naruto with that shit, but it doesn't work on me. I don't need pity."

Gaara turned on his heel and yanked the door open. There was someone crouched outside, their ear to the door, and they yelped and fell back against the hallway wall.

"What do you want, Naruto?"

**Hello. This is witchdoctr. I would thank each and every one of my reviewers, but there are now so many of you that I would have to spend the amount of time it takes me to write a chapter to tell you all just how great you are for reviewing me. And Favoriting both my Gaara stories. **

**So, um, I just wanted to ask: Do you guys want yaoi? **

**I said I was going to try at yaoi (which I am awful at), but only because so many people were asking for it. But now people don't seem to want me to. Your thoughts on yaoi? I can write it or not, depending on your answer. People who've been hanging onto this story for longer than others and reviewing every time I update, though, have higher precedence. Since they're the ones always reading it. **


	9. Urgency: Gaara Has To

"I-I, you know me, just, uh, checking the floor," Naruto stammered lamely. He knew it was pointless. He was caught red-handed. No denying. No point. "Keep your nose up your own ass for once," Gaara growled at him, his voice as cold as it had once been weeks ago. This disappointed him greatly. Just when he'd felt he was making progress, Gaara had reverted again. Naruto could tell from his face. It was hard and bitter and angry.

The redhead was usually withdrawn.

_What progress, Naruto? What progress? You haven't done anything but bother him and annoy him. You haven't done anything good for him. You saved him once and he's safe at the moment, but if you really want to make a difference, you have to _get his trust. _He's scared of his father, right? And so are his siblings. The police can't help, well they can, but not at the moment. So maybe if he trusts you, then you can help. Save him for real. _

Naruto wondered if talking to himself in his head classified him as a nut job. Probably. Oh well. He was already classified as a nut job.

"Gaara-"

"I'm leaving."

"Wait! I'll come with you-"

Gaara didn't respond, only gritting his teeth slightly and turning away. He wanted to be alone. Was that really so hard for the blond to comprehend? How stupid was he? He wanted to be alone. He stepped down the stairs, feeling Naruto and Sasuke's gazes on his back. Watching him leave. _How nosy, _Shukaku sighed. _I actually thought the blond would be of some use, but he's too stupid. All he's done is mess up things- _

_Be quiet, Shukaku. _

_I-What?_

_I don't want to hear it. Naruto may be an idiot and he shouldn't be involved, but..._

Gaara remembered when Shukaku hadn't been there. When he'd been alone, in the darkness. He'd been all alone. He'd thought so. But then, suddenly, the blond was there. He hadn't given up on him. He'd jumped through a window, just to get in the house. He'd risked a lot in coming and helping him leave. He'd given Gaara a safehouse, if only briefly. He'd woken up at ungodly hours in the morning and slept next to him and woken him up from a nightmare. Gaara remembered hugging Naruto, being hugged for real, with friendship and warmth, something he'd never experienced. Warmth. Amongst the icy region known as his world.

_Don't insult him. I won't get him involved, but I don't want you to bad-mouth him. He's my friend. _

Shukaku was shocked, to say the very least. Since when did Gaara sound so authoritive? So emotionally involved? He rarely told Shukaku what to do and while Shukaku should've been offended, he couldn't help but feel a spark of hope. Maybe Gaara had a spark of _something _in him. He, Shukaku, had to make Gaara fight for himself. He wanted to badly to rip Gaara's father into shreds, but there was nothing he could do from within this mental prison. It had to be Gaara.

**Short, but I know what's going to happen next so I'll be able to update quickly. **

**So eh, addressing the yaoi matter, I think I'll just let it go wherever it goes. I don't want to ruin it with my crappy attempts at romance, but maybe if I'm sneaky and slip it in there, then it won't be so bad. Eh, did that make sense? Not really. Oh well. **

**Oh and reviews aren't showing up on the story. Like, I know when you guys review and I can read it off my email, but I can't actually see it on the story. The number of reviews changes, but the reviews themselves don't show up. Anyone know what's going on? Is it just me?**


	10. Empty Forest, Empty Life

It was snowing merrily now in pretty white flurries. Perfectly pointed icicles sparkled on the underside of houses or were embedded in soft snow where they had fallen earlier. There was a peaceful kind of silence and the landscape was blinding white against the pale blue sky, dotted with fluffy clouds with interesting shapes. It was quiet too, like the world had frozen in time along with the temperature. Everything stopped. No cars on the road, no birds chirping, no people, but the endless sky and the blinding, fresh snow. Perfect. Perfect like a postcard from the winter colors to the sparkling, diamond-like surface of the snow. It was beautiful.

But it was still _fucking _cold!

Gaara left the house without a coat. The storm had calmed down and he could see better and knew where he was. He gripped his arms, trying to keep himself warm, or at least not frozen. It was really cold. Why hadn't he grabbed Kankuro's coat? It was probably dry now. Or at least, not as wet. It would've provided some warmth, any state. He would never even consider asking Sasuke for a coat. He didn't even like wearing Sasuke's shirt. But now really wasn't the time for preference.

He walked down the sidewalk, having to plow the way himself since no one had shoveled it yet and probably wouldn't for a while. As he walked, he wondered where he was going. He wanted to be alone, but where did he have to go? Nowhere but Naruto's house and he didn't want to go there. Not with Tsunade and Jiraya. Plus Naruto would find him there eventually. No, he was better off-

He paused and turned his head, looking at a sign proclaiming, "**Konoha Forest**" in front of a half-opened gate, one door shut, the other thrown wide open like it was inviting him in. He'd moved to the neighborhood a few months ago, but he hadn't known there was a park? Well, he told himself idly, walking through the entrance gates, I haven't been out much. He wandered, kicking the snow, with only one thought: get away. Get away from his troubles. Get away from it all. Never mind everything else. The forest stretched on for infinity in his eyes, and it could take him anywhere, he felt.

He walked, no longer aware of the cold, but the endless tunnel in front of him. Stretching as far as his eye could see. No more cold, no more sorrow, no more thinking. No more nothing. No more feeling, no more pain, no more him, nothing. Just fade away. Fading, fading, fading, like he'd wished he could do his whole life. Fading, fading, fading... alone. The way it had always been. The way it should've been.

"Gaara, where are you going?"

All he felt was nothing. He didn't care that the voice was the voice of the one person he cared about. He didn't care.

"Why does it matter? What point is there in this existence?" Wind blew, undeterred because of the lack of leaves, and he heard a slight intake of breath.

"What does it matter where I'm going? Who cares where I fade and how I got there?" Gaara knew he didn't. Fading. Dying. Same words, same meaning to him. It was all the same. Everything was the same. The loneness, the loneliness, the aloneness, his heart, his body, his soul. Everything felt hollow to him. Nothing was different, nothing had changed. He would live in this pit, this meaningless existence. He wanted to end it all.

"I do. It matters to me."

Silence. Wind whistled. Some animal howled in the distance. A bird crowed. Loneliness. A wolf seperated from its brothers. A bird without a nest. An icy forest. An empty forest. Like his being. Empty. Cold.

Gaara shifted and turned to face Naruto.

The blond had his palm out to him. His blue eyes were serious. He was here.

Here.

Here with him.

Gaara wasn't alone. He'd forgotten. He wasn't alone. Naruto was here. Naruto was here. He was here. He was light. He was there in the darkness. He was the light in the darkness. He was warmth in the cold landscape of his mind and of his heart. Naruto was here for him. Things had changed. Things were different. If he faded right now, someone would care. Naruto would. His life, his existence, had some meaning, had been justified, maybe not to himself, but to Naruto.

"Gaara? Please," Naruto pleaded. He wanted the redhead to know. Know they were friends. Know that he wasn't going to leave him, that he wasn't alone in this forest.

That he wasn't alone anywhere, never again, as long as Naruto was alive.

"Gaara, I don't want to lose you."

**Is this extremely corny? Am I a shitty writer? Man, I just went over this and I just had to ask. So yeah, sorry for the brevity again. **


	11. For Better or For Worse

Naruto stared at Gaara. Gaara stared at Naruto. Neither spoke. Naruto didn't think he could say anything more, just wait for a response. Gaara was too overcome with emotion to bother moving his mouth and even if he could, he wouldn't know what to say. Maybe thank you? How on earth could he express feelings of gratitude? Of existing? Of being cared about? Of love?

Naruto waited. Gaara was unsure. He didn't know what to do.

_Oh hell. Stop thinking. Just do what feels right. _

_Shukaku? I thought- _

_If he's what you need, then I don't object. _

Shukaku's approval. He had it.

Inwardly, away from Gaara, Shukaku was silently disappointed, strangely enough. He'd never made Gaara this happy. If happy could really describe what he was feeling right now. He still iddn't think Naruto would do any good, but if Gaara could get a hint of the love he deserved, but never got, then maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all. Maybe Naruto had some use after all. Some use. In keeping Gaara's spirits up. Nothing else.

Gaara followed Shukaku's advice.

What felt right. What was right.

Naruto was as surprised as Shukaku when the redhead hugged him. Tightly.

Gaara was really cold. Really cold, inside and out.

Naruto was warm. Really warm, inside and out. He hugged Gaara back and the redhead responded just as tightly, not wanting to let go of the warmth. Never. Never let it go.

This was the first time he'd ever initiated a hug with anyone. And it felt good.

Warm.

Never experienced anything like it.

Tears crept from his eyes, warm tears that cut through the icy wetness on his face from the snow. He buried his head in Naruto's shoulder and cried. He felt a little guilty, feeling like a weakling, but right now, he didn't care. If weakness was happiness, then maybe it was preferable to strong and miserable. Naruto wrapped one arm around Gaara's slender back, the other around his neck, touching his vivid hair. He held Gaara close, keeping the cold out, keeping the loneliness at bay.

The embrace lasted only a few minutes, but to Gaara, it was enough to be a lifetime. A lifetime of happiness. And warmth he could remember when he needed to.

"Let's go back, all right? It's really cold out here."

But it wasn't cold. Not to Gaara.

* * *

><p>Naruto gave Gaara his coat, against the redhead's protest. This prompted Gaara and Naruto to run home as the snow picked up and as Naruto began to complain about getting frostbite.<p>

"Serve you right for kicking snow in my face earlier," Gaara reminded him.

"Hey! It was a joke, man!"

"This isn't a joke." Gaara seized him and shoved him into a snowdrift on the side of the road. "I did tell you the only reason I would go outside was to shove your head into a snowdrift." He could hold a grudge. Naruto yanked his head out of the snow. "Not fair! I gave you my coat! You're gonna get it, believe it!" Gaara wasn't scared of Naruto. He didn't move any faster or attempt to run away. In fact, he wasn't motivated to move any faster than his normal pace, until Naruto smashed a snowball in his right ear. That was the last straw.

This was war.

Gaara threw a snowball made of ice and hard, easy-to-pack-together snow. Pegged it with his considerable strength. With his considerable accuracy.

At Naruto's face.

At first, it was only for revenge. He was pissed. Naruto was laughing, even as his nose bled bright red on the snow.

"Bring it on!" He threw a snowball at Gaara, who flinched as it hit his wounded shoulder. In return, he threw a fast snowball at Naruto's leg. "Oh! Holy... Shit!" he gasped, clutching his leg. "Holy... shit! Ow, ow, oh the pain, ohhh the pain. It burns! It burns!" He made a big production of falling backwards. Then yelping as he realized just how cold it was. "Shit, it's cold," he yelped. "Really? I had no idea."

From there, it got lighter. Naruto kept well away from his injured areas and Gaara didn't throw so hard. After a while, he forgot himself in Naruto's coyness, in the world of childhood he'd never experienced or felt like this before. He enjoyed himself for the first time in the cold, the outside he hated. Amazing. Naruto was changing everything he was, everything he'd always been. For the better or for the worse? Gaara didn't know. At the moment, it couldn't get any better. But, his voice of pessimism told him, things could always get worse. Then he would only have these memories left to cherish. When he had to return to his world of darkness, he would have these memories.

For better or for worse?

Better because he could have this happiness, however briefly. He'd have the memories and he could go to them when he felt like killing himself.

Worse because he could remember happiness and the longing for it to return would be horrible. It would be worse than never knowing happiness at all.

Worse because he wouldn't have Naruto forever. Worse because he would be alone again. Worse because his happiness was only temporary. Worse because it wasn't shallow, fake happiness, that it was real and it would be taken away from him soon. Anxiety.

Better because he had Naruto. Here and now. He would have him a little time longer. Just a while. But it was enough. It was better than the nothingness.

**Uh. This chapter would not come out right, for some reason. It was really hard to write, even though it's short. Sorry if I disappoint. I'm getting writer's block. This obstacle will get in my way and slow down my updating considerably. so, uh, I will see you soon. I won't let this story go to trash, just 'cause of dumb writer's block. I promise. **


	12. Moronic Idiot or Perceptive Idiot?

**I realized the weather is seriously messed up and that it would not snow so violently so quickly after summer. Oops. **

Once again, Gaara woke up with Naruto leaning on him. Once again, he shoved him away, though this time, less violently.

"Wha-? He-eeeeeey, Gaaaah-rah," Naruto yawned. He rubbed his eyes and stared at his watch for a full minute before he realized that it was a watch and he was looking at it. Naruto was really slow thinking in the morning. Not slow talking/yelling, though. "Friggin' five in the mornin'? What the hell is wrong with you?" Naruto peered around the room blearily. "Dark. It's dark, believe it." Gaara rolled his eyes, not even bothering to say something sarcastic about that dumb "believe it," at the end of his sentences. He'd already done it every time Naruto said it. This time was too stupid to insult.

"Hey Gaara, since you're awake, we-"

"You know we have school today."

Naruto groaned and thumped his head against the couch. "How do you know?"

"It's on the school website. I used your computer."

Naruto scowled at him, frowning heavily. But it didn't suit his face, not at all, and he split into a grin as he tried to be serious and look serious. And failed.

When he got control of himself, he managed to make a semi-serious face.

"Do you wake up early to play on the computer or just to annoy me?"

In truth, Gaara had woken up earlier. He'd gotten up, but he couldn't stand the darkness, not for a moment. So he found Jiraiya's laptop on the kitchen table and checked to see if school was out. But, to his relief, he found his eyes twitching with tiredness. He was tired. He was always tired. But how many times had he actually fallen asleep after waking up? Rarely. And never this deeply. In a way, it worried him. If he got into the habit of sleeping deeply, then he wouldn't be able to defend himself at home, be able to wake up whenever his father entered the room- Gaara shoved the thought from his head. Not now. He would worry later. Enjoy the safety now. Instead, he made himself think about school and how it was open.

Gaara wasn't been sure if he was relieved or upset.

Here, he had less of a chance of seeing Kankuro or Temari.

But also here, they might come and visit him, where he couldn't escape.

Then there was also the matter that he hated being in school, surrounded by students and dumb teachers. The only person he could stand being around was Naruto and he didn't like Naruto's friends. Especially not Sasuke, and unfortunately, Sasuke was always wtih Naruto. It wad ironic because a few weeks ago Naruto had felt like an unbearable stick in the ass.

So he grudgingly got dressed in some random outfit Kankuro had stuffed into a bag for him, brushed his teeth with his toothbrush and toothpaste, locked Naruto out when he tried to get in, and emptied the bag of clothes, only to find Kankuro had thoughtfully filled it with the things he needed for school. Even his phone, something he'd never used before and doubted he'd ever use.

"Hey Gaara, you have a phone? Oh my god, I'm putting my number in the Contacts List, believe it!" Naruto shouted from the living room. Gaara shook his head, amused. It was hard to doubt anything when Naruto was around.

"Gaara! Come on! It's almost time to go and you're going to eat if I have to tie you to a chair and shove something down."

The redhead felt his stomach lurch at the thought. "No," he said. "No." He was adamant.

And Naruto was persistent.

With various methods.

"Gaara, do you want me to pay you?"

"It's for your own good!"

"Stop being so stupid and just eat something."

"I'm not gonna force you, just eat, please? For me?"

"What do you have against food?"

But Naruto remembered his vomit at Sasuke's house and didn't pressure him any farther than that.

"Just an apple?"

"I hate fruits, anything with sugar, really."

"Then why did you eat that apple the other day?"

"I didn't like it, I was only eating it because you were going to drag me out into a snowstorm."

"Hey! Kids! Shut up!" Jiraiya yelled. "At least it's not Tsunade yelling at us," Naruto said, grinning. She had left on Monday unexpectedly before they'd come home. Naruto thought it was because she had to deal with the snow and how it affected the snow. Gaara thought it was because she didn't want to see him. He had an instinct for when people were talking about him in the other room. He got a strange feeling and people never looked him in the eye and were instantly silent the moment he walked into the room. He was getting that sort of vibe now and Jiraiya's gaze never stayed on his for long. They'd been talking about him for sure, damnit.

This upset his stomach even more. He clutched at it and leaned over slightly, resisting the urge to dry-heave. Worry and stress made him throw up. He could tell himself not to think about it, but it was always there, always lingering on the edge of his mind, making him nervous and tense and unable to eat without throwing up his worry. "You're hungry aren't you?"

Gaara straightened and met Naruto's eyes. The blond didn't sound like he was trying to force him to eat, just asking a question. A genuine question. His eyes were serious.

"Yes."

"But you can't eat."

"No." He had to hand it to Naruto. He may seem like a total moron, but he could be oddly perceptive.

When it came to Gaara, anyway.

**No cliffhanger this time. Does that make it boring? Sorry 'bout that, but this school scene is required. So, um, hi everyone. Sorry for the longer than usual wait. I've been having difficulties with writer's block, but I am now cured YAY and I'm going to celebrate by writing more chapters for this story. **

**5511narusaku4eva: I'm thinking maybe fifty chapters? Or forty like the last story. Depends on how much I feel is necessary. Later. **

**Battenburg507: What is a dongle? Thank you so much for ordering it 'specially' now I feel special :) About yaoi, I'm trying to slip it in there without ruining my writing style. I'm just going to let it go where it goes and see if it turns out as a yaoi or not. **

**HeartsNaruto: Again, I have to mention you because you're awesome for reviewing all of my Naruto fics. **


	13. Nice Entrance, Naruto

Gaara leaned impatiently against the lampost. "What's taking so long? Sasuke? Come on out already! I know you're there! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

The redhead sighed and checked his watch.

_If only _Naruto hadn't needed to eat four bowls of Ramen.

_If only _Naruto had scrambled around looking for his school shit the night before, not that morning.

_If only _Sasuke would hurry up.

"All right, all right, I'm here, where's the fire, douche bag?" Sasuke grumbled, clutching his sore ears. "Why are you so fucking loud?"

"Hey Sasuke, is Itachi walking with us?"

"He said he'd rather eat rotting milk. Literally _eating _rotten milk and you know he's like OCD about cleaning. He was serious."

"Okay! I can believe it!" Naruto laughed at his own joke. "Come on, let's go." "Enough with the talking then," Sasuke grunted at him. Then he scowled as he saw Gaara. Stupid redhead. Sasuke had been trying to _help! _Why didn't Gaara seem to get that? Well he wasn't going to apologize. Though he felt a silver of guilt as he thought of Gaara's father, he also felt it was Gaara's fault for holding it in. He wouldn't accept help and acted all anti-social, but had the gall to drag Naruto into his business. It annoyed him, but he couldn't help but feel pity. He felt pity, but he didn't want Naruto involved. Gaara was a psycho. He had a good reason, but he was a psycho, angry one second, timid and scared the next. He might even be anorexic. Or was it bulimic? Whatever. The kid had problems. Sasuke didn't want his best friend hanging out with someone like that.

Sasuke had known Naruto for ever. He knew Naruto was attracted to people who needed help, who were alone, who were anti-social and wanted to be _left_ alone, kids he felt were special cases. Kids he felt he could fix. But Sasuke didn't want him to try this one. Naruto was in over his head. How was he going to deal with child abuse? His normal style of leap without looking, head first, wasn't going to work. He'd have to be smart, but the kid wasn't smart enough to screw in a light bulb. Naruto was going to make it worse or something.

As he contemplated this, he gave off an unfriendly aura, a storm cloud vibe. Gaara assumed it was because he was present.

_Well I don't want to be here either, so you're not alone, are you? _

Naruto chattered to both of them, ignoring their raincloud moods and trying to bring in a little sunshine. No luck. It was still cloudy and it was still really cold with the snow pushed up off the roads and into the grass besides the sidewalks. "Gaara." The redhead tensed slightly and Shukaku bared his teeth somewhere inside his head. If that raven offered him condolences of any form he was going to punch him into the snow. He didn't want anyone's pity.

But Sasuke only said, "you left your coat at my house. I can drop it off at Naruto's house sometime or you can come get it." Gaara nodded. "What does that mean? Do you want me to bring it over or do you want to get it?" "The former, but I'll do the latter," Gaara said, voice dripping with venom. "Huh? What do ladders have to do with anything?" Naruto asked. "Just shut up, I get it," Sasuke told his blond friend.

Besides that, there was no interaction between them.

The school was quiet. Too quiet. They were late.

"You think I'm allowed to write 'Naruto' in the slot for 'Reasons for Tardiness'?" Sasuke joked as they filled out their tardy forms with the front desks. "He might be a legitimate excuse." "Doubt it," Naruto said cheerfully. "Besides, you held us up, so I should write your name in my 'Reasons for Tardiness.'" He finished writing and dropped the pen. "Come on, Gaara, let's roll!"

"Man, I am so glad we have Kakashi. He's always late, so he can't lecture us about it, believe it! I hate being at school, I wish I was home sleeping, don't you? Oh wait, you're Gaara, you never sleep, you're like a vampire, but not like the romantic emo type like you see in the Twilight Saga, like one of those cool kill everyone vampires, but like in a good way."

Gaara blocked out Naruto's words and instead focused on his emotion, on his voice. It was so... happy. It made him feel safe inside. Warm. Naruto was so happy. It was like emotions were affecting his own, negative emotions. It made him feel... warm.

The feeling didn't last, unfortunately because Naruto had to stop talking.

Naruto knocked on Kakashi's door loudly. "Ladies first," he sang. He grabbed Gaara arm with his left arm and, using his right arm, shoved the door open. Then with both arms, he shoved Gaara in first.

The redhead didn't say anything, but he stumbled into the classroom looking like a bumbling idiot when that was really Naruto's role. He didn't blush (such a feat would've been impossible for him), but he did feel embarrassment tingle across his skin as every eye in the room went to him. He stared back for a moment, mouth dry. Then he lowered his head and walked to his seat, trying not to walk too fast or too slow. "Um, Gaara?"

Gaara looked back. Now that the initial shock had worn off, he found it easier to keep his cool.

Kakashi, used to Gaara's silence, pressed on.

"Your tardy slip. Give it to me, please. And tell Naruto he can stop hovering around outside the door, I can see him. He actually thinks he can slip into class unnoticed just because he shoved you in here first?"

"That's Naruto."

Stunned silence. Gaara never, ever, _ever _spoke unless absolutely necessary to crush someone's feelings. Never ever.

The redhead seemed to realize what he'd just done. He clamped his mouth shut and walked stiffly to Kakashi. He held his slip out and Kakashi took it. "Now go tell Naruto," he said.

Gaara peered out in the hallway. "I'm right here," the blond whispered in his ear from the side of the door where he'd been leaning against a locker. Gaara jumped violently. "Don't do that," he snapped, keeping his voice low so the class didn't hear him. "Then you heard everything, so get your ass in here." Naruto grinned and patted his head. The redhead jerked his head away irritably. "I'm coming, don't blow a gasket." Gaara went back into the classroom and made his way back to his seat, but there was a flurry of motion he saw out of the corner of his eye that distracted him and made him turn his head completely.

Naruto made his grand entrance and Gaara wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not.

He ran in and tripped over nothing and slid a good five feet, his head banging hard into Kakashi's desk and upending his trach and recycle bins with his flailing limbs. Papers and trash fluttered down onto his head. "Damn it, who put this here?" he exclaimed. He tried to get up, but slipped on pencil shavings combined with paper. "Loser!" Ino Yamanaka screamed from her seat. "Why do you always mess up everything?"

Kiba, Lee, Tenten, Sakura and Choji roared with laughter. Hinata squeaked in concern.

Shino, Shikamaru, Neji and Gaara looked on with mild disdain.

Though not without amusement.

**Okay, I know it's getting boring so I'm going to make this a fun school day. **


	14. Meaningful Dream About Ramen?

"That's enough with the antics, Naruto, get in your seat."

Giggling, Naruto got back up and bounced to his seat. "Fuh-reak," Ino hissed at him. "Blond bimbo," he said loudly. "Naruto," Kakashi sighed. "Opinions, no matter how true, should not be expressed in school, the epitome of communism." "I only understood half of what you said," Naruto said cheerfully. "Just sit down and be quiet. Oh wait, you can't take two orders at a time. Here: Sit down. Yes, good, sit, good job. Now zip it," Kakashi said. Naruto saluted and sat down next to Gaara. "Heeeeyyyyy-"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

Kakashi nodded in approval. Gaara was talking now, huh? That was an interesting developement. Kakashi had been studying him since he'd come in the room. He'd heard a slight intake of breath when Gaara had stumbled into the room and straightened up. He'd seen the stiff movements Gaara made as he walked and, to test out his theory that Gaara was in some way injured, asked the redhead to give him his tardy slip (he didn't actually need it, just needed to see it in Gaara's hand). As Gaara walked through the aisle, Kakashi couldn't see any hint of a limp (it didn't prove his theory but it didn't wreck it either). But he did see bruises on Gaara's neck. But they were long faded. They could've been sunburns. If they hadn't been shaped like fingers.

But then, he could be wrong. He could be over-reacting over nothing and seeing things. He could be crazy.

"Um, Kakashi, you're spacing out."

Kakashi looked up. "Wha-? Oh yeah."

He began talking about something about something about something. Naruto really wasn't paying attention. He was staring dreamily at Sakura. Her eyes were so beautiful, he thought. Pale green. Yeah, that was his favorite color, Naruto decided, pale green like the seafoam. It was her best feature. She was really cute, but it was the seafoam eyes that made him act like an idiot around her.

His eyes began to flutter shut as he grew too bored to bother staying awake. He was a heavy sleeper and his dreams were vivid, heavy sleep or cat nap, like now.

_In his dream, he was alone in darkness. "It's dark in here," he said out loud to himself. "It's kind of creepy. Anyone else here?" he shivered and realized he could see his breath. What was this dark, cold place? A bright white light burst into existence over head. He covered his eyes, letting his eyes adjust to the brightness. He peered into the darkness and spotted something green, familiar green eyes and a flash of familiar brick red. _

_"Gaara? Hey buddy, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked. He heard a rustle behind him and whipped around, but he couldn't see Gaara anymore. Where was he? Why was he hiding? It was too dark to determine, but he was sure it was Gaara. _

_"Gaara?" _

_The light flickered out and Naruto was surrounded by darkness. _

_"Naruto." _

_The blond jumped and whirled around, but it was no use. He couldn't see anything. "Gaara? Where are you?" _

_"Where am I? I'm here. I'm lost, Naruto. Can you find me?" the voice came from behind him. Naruto could feel Gaara's breath against his ear. _

_There was a rushing sound and the light lit up again. He looked behind him, but there was no one here. _

"Naruto, wake up, the bell rang-"

Naruto bolted up out of his seat so fast he knocked his chair over. "Gaara?"

"What?" the redhead asked. "I-I-it's nothing," Naruto said. Gaara tilted his head at the blond, but dropped it.

He decided not to mention the fact that Naruto was extremely pale. Well, not pale, not with a tan like his, but pretty pale compared to his usual skin tone.

He decided not to mention the fact that Naruto had been muttering in his sleep. Muttering things like, "it's so dark," and ,"I'll find you."

He decided not to mention the fact that he had seen Naruto's fist clench as if he was fighting a dream enemy.

He decided not to mention the fact that Naruto had drooled in his lap, his arm, and his shirt.

Gaara wondered if he was dreaming of Ramen, like he'd once heard Naruto yell early in the morning. And then, he wondered if Naruto was capable of dreaming of anything meaningful.

Probably not, he decided.

**Was this incredibly corny again? So sorry. I'm getting writer's block again, damnit. **


	15. Clay Cretin,Clay Fanatic,and Clay Apathy

Sasuke hated this. He hated Art with a passion now. This is stupid, he thought viciously. This is really dumb, who cares about clay?

Last week, they'd been doing clay. This week, they were still doing clay, but now they were doing pinch pots. And Sasuke was suffering. Clay was still not his forte. "Why is this damn thing so squishy?" he cursed. Gaara looked at him in amusement. The raven blushed as he realized what a dorky word he'd just said was. "I- you know what I mean, this thing is all-flat on this end, see? And I can't keep the shape if the thing's hollow."

"It's a pinch pot. It's supposed to be hollow," Gaara rasped.

"I know _that! _I'm just saying that it's harder to- argh, I hate this class," he said frustratedly. He squeezed his clay back into meaningless mush and started again. "This is impossible." He knew it was possible, though. Gaara was already done with the shape of his pinch pot. He just had to glaze it and that didn't require any work from him. In fact, the redhead was just sitting there, watching him struggle. "Don't stare at me with judgemental eyes," Sasuke snapped. "Judgemental, huh?" Gaara echoed.

"Yeah. I know I'm a shitty artist, not need to reinforce it with your eyes," Sasuke grumbled.

"I wasn't aware I was reinforcing anything."

Sasuke groaned and squashed the clay up again. "Screw this," he complained. "If it turns out as a ball, then great. If not, then screw it, I don't care."

Gaara was amused. Sasuke seemed really frustrated. It was entertaining to watch Sasuke's agitation. He knew what the raven was doing wrong, but he wasn't asking, so he wasn't telling.

It made an Art class that would've been boring interesting.

Gaara watched as Sasuke dented his pinch pot with his fingers and was forced to start over.

"Excellent, Gaara!"

Gaara didn't react, but a chill went up his back, making the hairs on his neck stand up. Sasuke jumped violently, his hands crushing the sensitive clay. "Shit!" "Language," Deidara said sweetly. "English, you speak it?" Sasuke grunted at him. "Damn it, damn it, damn it." He tore the clay apart again and started over again. "Anyhow, good job, Gaara, you can start on the sculpture today. You're the only one to finish their pinch pot in ten minutes of class time. I love clay. Don't you?" Deidara asked. "No."

"Well it comes over time." Deidara clapped a hand to his shoulder and walked away. _What comes over time? An intense love of clay? _Gaara didn't particularly like or dislike clay, so he couldn't really understand the Art teacher's strange obsession with the stuff. His hands were always coated with clay and he was always rolling a ball or two in his hands. And he seemed really happy when they were working in the clay unit. But then, Deidara was always happy. Not like Naruto happy, but like a content-with-his-place-in-life happy. But seriously, who would be content to be a teacher?

Sasuke managed to make his pinch pot by the end of the period. It was lumpy and wasn't a perfect ball, but he just "screwed" it and let it be whatever it would be. For the first time, Sasuke talked to him as they were walking from Art class together. "Art's supposed to be like free-thinking, right? Well I'm being a free-thinker and my pinch pot's going to come out different than everyone else's. Isn't that Art?"

"Sasuke, there's a difference between doing something wrong when you know what you're doing, and doing something wrong by accident. Artists have to be able to do something right before they can do it wrong, for the sake of free-thinking," Gaara said. Sasuke's eyes widened and he stared at Gaara with his mouth slightly open in an exaggerated expression of shock. "I think that's the most you've ever said to me in one go," he said. "Do you always look this stupid?"

"You tell me, you're always staring at me."

"Yeah, at your hair, what style is that, a chicken's ass? I don't blame you, though, since you can't see your reflection without seeing a crack first."

Before Sasuke could respond (he wasn't even sure how to respond) Naruto grabbed his arm. "Come on, come on," he said excitedly. "I want to skip Math class and play this prank on Asuma." He started to drag Sasuke, who glared at him. "Naruto, you realize Asuma is the Math teacher, right?" Gaara asked him. Naruto's face fell. "Oh. Right." He let go of Sasuke. "Then let's go to Math class!" He bolted off to his locker to get his Math junk. "He's the only one enthusiastic enough to run to Math class with a smile on his face," Sasuke muttered. "The only one stupid enough," Gaara added.

Math class sure is boring.

**Math Class up next. Will update to make up for brevity. **


	16. You Can Skip This Chapter

Asuma was not in the mood today.

"NARUTO! Keep it down!" he exclaimed. "I don't care if you don't pay attention to me, but at least shut up."

Naruto grinned mischeviously, looking guilty. "Sorry, Mr. Asuma," he said. "Gaara was talking to me." Gaara neither confirmed or denied this. He had not been, but he doubted Asuma would believe this obvious lie anyway. "Oh right, Naruto, because that would be so in character," Asuma said sarcastically. "As a teacher, I'm not allowed to hit the students, but I can ask one of you kids to do it for me." Sasuke raised his hand. "I volunteer," he said.

"I was kidding. Back to the lesson, please." The moment his back was turned, Naruto leaned back in his chair and took out his phone. Then he glanced at Gaara.

"Hey do you keep your phone on you at school?" he whispered. Gaara shook his head. "Pity. We could text all day."

"That's so gay," Sasuke whispered. "So is your haircut," Naruto hissed back. "Owned, slap me five, Gaara!" He held his hand up, but Gaara stared at it like it was a scorpion, so he withdrew it befone Asuma could see it.

Sasuke sighed and rubbed his hair. Why was everyone insulting his hair? Was it really that ugly or was it just ridiculous or something?

Naruto was fidgety now. He was bored and his attention kept straying. It never occurred to him to actually pay attention during class. He glanced from side to side, trying to find something to do, something to focus on. Sakura was in this class. For a few moments, he managed to focus on her. Maybe he should ask her out. Not today, though, it was Tuesday. Never ask a girl out on Tuesday. Maybe this Friday. That would be a good day. He could use some of his Ramen savings to pay for a movie and a dinner somewhere.

But soon, this idea was shot. Sakura, feeling his gaze, turned in her seat and glared at him. He blinked and smiled at her. She gave him a disgusted look before turning her eyes back to her notes.

Notes? Oh, they were supposed to be writing something? That was new.

Naruto ripped off the corner of his math worksheet, presumably what they were supposed to be doing. With careful glances at the Math teacher, he threw a note to Sasuke.

It fell off his desk, but Sasuke caught it.

If I ask Sakura out on Friday, what are the chances of her smacking me? 

Sasuke didn't look up, scribbling a reply and tossing it back.

About 120%.

What makes you so sure? 

Have you two met? 

Why does she like you so much anyway? 

I don't know. She's annoying. 

She's so cute. 

Is that all you look for in girls? 

At least I'm interested in girls, Sasuke. 

Sasuke glared at him for that last message, but he ended up grinning and shaking his head wordlessly. It was a sign of respect, of acknowledgement for coming up with a decent comeback. A comeback that made sense.

But Sasuke went back to work and Naruto now had nothing to do. He peered around the room, looking for someone to annoy. Rock Lee was working hard as usual. Neji was idly doodling on his paper. Tenten was chewing gum. Ino was curling her hair on her finger, glancing at Sasuke and, inexplicably, Gaara. Speaking of which, Gaara was staring at nothing, his pencil forgotten on his desktop. Shikamaru was sleeping, head resting on his elbow. Naruto thought he heard Shikamaru mutter something about cats.

Who to annoy? Not Tenten, she'd beat his ass, not Ino, she already hated him, not Sasuke, too many reasons to count, not Sakura, not his crush. Who to piss off?

His gaze went to Gaara. A mischevious smile formed on his face. He leaned over the empty space between their two rows. His finger was an inch from Gaara's shoulder.

"Don't go there."

Naruto withdrew his hand quickly. "Oh man. That's serious," he giggled. "How'd you do that, you weren't even looking at me?"

Gaara didn't respond.

As expected.

Naruto was soon bored again. He fished through his pockets for something to play with.

He found a needle, an apple core, an empty ketchup packet, a small ball of twine, a bouncy ball, a strip of red fabric, some tape and a pasta noodle.

Absentmindedly, he poked a hole through the pasta noodle with the needle. He then pushed the thread through the hole. He wrapped the strip of fabric around the noodle and pinned it there by shoving the needle through again. He nibbled on the apple core. It tasted bad. He sniffed the ketchup packet and found it smelt as bad as the apple tasted, if not worse. When was the expiration date?

Fourth period. Just as agonizingly boring. Gaara wasn't in his Government class. Gaara had Government with Kurenai while he had Government with Danzo, a weird old man who liked to complain about Tsunade's way of running the school. He was always talking about how "he would run things." But Naruto found it easy to ignore him. He didn't have Sasuke or anyone interesting in his class, so it was easy to zone out.

Yay! His favorite class, his most active class, inside and outside, Gym Class! And best of all, all of his friends were in that class.

**Stupid block. **

**I need an action/angst/drama sequence, don't I? **


	17. New Enemies, What Fun

"Where's Gaara?" Naruto asked Sasuke. The raven looked at him, yanking his shirt over his head. "I don't know."

Naruto changed quickly and went to go check the bathrooms. No Gaara there. He checked the showers. No Gaara there, thank God, if he'd found Gaara there, he wasn't sure what he would've said or done. He went all around the locker room, wondering if Gaara was hiding from him. No, Gaara wasn't in the changing room. The answer turned out to be so simple he had to smack himself for his own sheer stupidity. Gaara was waiting in the Gym. "Hey Gaara, I was looking for you."

Gaara pointed at his ribs. "Oh, right, you're injured, so you don't have to participate, lucky," Naruto grumbled. Gaara stared at him. He didn't feel he needed to spell it out for the blond. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that!" Before Naruto could determine if Gaara was pissed off or not, Guy tackled him. Literally. Tackled. Him. Naruto gasped. "Can't. Breathe. Get. Off," he gasped. Guy laughed, but got up nonetheless. Naruto was up and on his feet on half a second. "That's showing the power of youth! Good job Nar-uto," Guy roared, dragging Naruto's name out unecessarily. Though nothing was unecessary to Might Guy. "Why'd you do that?" Naruto yelled at him. "Is that even allowed in school?"

"Don't be a little girl, Naruto! Taking a tackle without complaining is manly," Guy roared. He clapped his hands together. "I'm not complaining, I was just asking frigging _why?_" Naruto yelled. "Good, you're energetic today! Atta' boy, Nar-uto!" He went into a hand stand and began to jog around the Gym, soon to be joined by his son Lee. "He's a nut job!" Naruto hissed to Sasuke and Gaara, who just crossed his arms. All of them had just accepted his weirdness.

"Today we're playing basketball with the exception of Gaara!" Guy yelled. Gaara stared straight ahead as eyes aimed at him, inwardly cursing Guy for drawing attention to himself.

Gaara was allowed to sit on the side, in the bleachers, and watch Naruto run around the court like a dog chasing a ball. He liked the running part. He just didn't like all of the rules. "I don't want to dribble," he complained to Sasuke. "If you don't, it's called a travel and it's illegal in basketball," the raven replied. He, of course, was great at basketball. "Illegal? Oh don't you feel superior now," Naruto grumbled. "That doesn't make sense, loser."

Naruto cursed. "How am I supposed to keep the ball and dribble at the same time? If someone grabs the ball while I'm dribbling, then I can't do anything about it, believe it," he complained. "If I'm dribbling, people steal it from me." "Yeah, well it takes skill which you severely lack," Sasuke smirked. "Look, try to steal the ball from me, Naruto." He dribbled the ball around Naruto. The blond swatted at the ball several times, but Sasuke kept it away from him. "See? Look, I am literally dribbling circles around you, you know that?"

"I know you're a pretentious asshole."

"Prestigious, you mean."

"I don't know what that means."

"How do you know what pretentious means if you don't know what prestigious means?"

"Um, I'm not entirely what sure pretentious means, but I think it's an insult. You know what, I going to go ask Gaara, he should know." Naruto swatted at the ball in a last ditch attempt, then trotted to the bleachers.

Gaara resisted the urge to run away as he watched the blond make a beeline for him. He watched Naruto get closer, closer, closer. He was so focused on watching Naruto's inevitable approach that he didn't see the basketball coming until it was hitting his face.

Pain erupted in icy-hot waves and a white flash as his eyes shut. He fell off the bleachers from the force and the shock. The fall didn't hurt, but his face was burning and his nose was bleeding. "GAARA, ARE YOU OKAY?" He grasped his nose and pinched it, trying to stop the bleeding. Pain spiked through his face. He wondered if it was broken. Oh well. Nothing he'd never experienced before. "Oh my god, that's a lot of blood! What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?"

"Relax, Naruto, it's not big deal."

Gaara opened his eyes. He blinked. "Er, Sabaku, are you all right?" he heard Guy ask in the quietest tone Gaara had ever heard him use. Still loud, though.

"Fine," he said. "Who's the asshole who threw the ball?"

Fear. Unease. Concern from Naruto, apathy from Sasuke.

And one emotion that really got to him.

A kid with white hair was grinning at him mockingly.

It might not have been him who'd thrown the basketball at him, but Shukaku-Gaara, didn't care.

The redhead lunged at the white-haired boy.

**Believe it or not, but this has happened to me a few times. People, basketballs hurt! Really! Don't throw basketballs at poor people who are just sitting on the bleachers minding their own business. Seriously. You know who you are. **


	18. Full Responsiblity, Lack of Evidence

His fist snapped out and caught his cheek. If Shukaku was angry before, it was nothing compared to now. Gaara retreated in the darkness in his mind, allowing the demon full control. He smiled a terrifying smile, the kind that made chills run down the spectators' spines. He blocked the boy's next hit with ease and returned the punch with double the power. The boy went down, skidding five feet before getting back up, grinning, and holding his arms at the ready.

Shukaku scowled. This kid wanted a fight, did he? Good, he was going to get one. Shukaku relished the oppurtunity to fight, relished the feeling of fighting, of feeling _alive. _

Naruto watched Gaara lunge at the kid again. He probably would've done the same thing in Gaara's place. Basketballs hurt enough without being pegged at someone. He would know. He'd been hit with basketballs before, in more sensitive areas, and they hurt like hell. But he was worried that Gaara would go too far. He knew the redhead had a bit of an explosive temper when he got really, really pissed, which wasn't often.

Gaara blocked the boy's punch and grabbed his wrist. He hit the boy with the opposite arm, but found his fist caught by the boy's other hand. They were at a bit of a standstill now. Gaara twisted his fist free, grasping the boy's other wrist and spun around completely, freeing himself of the boy's grip and simultaneously throwing the boy into the wall. Before he could do more than hit the wall, Gaara punched his gut and back-fisted his face.

The kid wasn't giving up too easily though. He lashed out with his foot.

He caught Gaara's ribcage.

Gaara gasped. The real Gaara snapped back into existence as pain flared. He couldn't breathe. He staggered away from the boy, one arm hugging his chest, his good arm clenched into a fist. When Shukaku had taken over, the pain in his bad arm had been nonexistent. It had been fine, operating like it usually did and was supposed to. But now it was aching and his whole shoulder seized up. He staggered, trying to get his breath back.

"That's enough!"

Gaara was glad.

The kid was not.

He charged at Gaara, fist ready to swing, and Gaara tensed, raising his good arm. An unusual fire gripped his muscles, not the painful kind of fire, but the rejuvenating kind, the kind that energized him. He was going to repay this kid in kind for that hit earlier.

Sasuke dove in front of him and shoved the offender back. Several kids grabbed the kid's arms, holding him back from the redhead.

Some kids tried to grab Gaara too, in case he attacked and needed to be restrained, but the scorching glare he gave them was enough to deter them, to send them backing up hastily. Only Naruto wasn't deterred. He went up to Gaara and patted his good shoulder. "You okay?" he muttered as the noise level increased. Kids began to yell, swear, call for help or for Guy, Guy yelling over the noise, trying to regain control, then grumpy complaints from the kids he shoved aside to get to the fighting kid being held back. "Fine," Gaara muttered in reply. His shoulder still burned like hell and his breathing was forced, but he could still stand which constituted as fine in his book.

Guy managed to get the kid and grab his arm in an iron grip. Then he dragged him through the crowd of kids and seized Gaara's arm too. The kid swiped at him, but Guy held him back. "Suigetsu Hozuki, that's enough!" "I-he-hit me!"

"Save your excuses for Tsuna-de, boys!"

* * *

><p>Gaara wasn't sure how he'd gotten in the principal's office again, he just knew his face stung and his body ached.<p>

He felt strange. Pumped. Energized. He never felt this... alive. He'd never fought before, it had always been Shukaku. But for a brief moment, he'd had a taste of anger.

His anger. _His. _Not Shukaku's. It was a fierce feeling and he couldn't seem to control it. Every time he glanced at Suigetsu, hatred flared up inside him. Hatred isn't a happy feeling, but it is a feeling and he couldn't explain it in any other way: he felt alive. But the feeling couldn't last too long. As angry as he'd been, the numbness had crept back into his heart again. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

"Fighting again, Suigetsu?"

"He started it."

Gaara neither confirmed, nor denied. He had started it, in a way.

"Fighting is not tolerated in this school. What was this about? Suigetsu, you tell me what you think happened and Gaara, you tell me what you think happened. Then I'll decided who I believe," Tsunade snapped. She sounded really pissed and Suigetsu cringed, wondering if the blond principal would smack him. She didn't look like she'd be above smacking kids, if anything, she looked like she was prone to it.

"I was just minding my business and this crazy attacks me. Seriously, you can ask Coach Guy, he'll tell you the same thing, I didn't do anything!" Suigetsu protested. Tsunade gave him a hard look. "I-I looked at him, okay? That's all, I looked at him, when did that become a crime, huh?"

Gaara couldn't deny that. He wasn't even sure if the white-haired boy had even thrown the ball at him. It might not have even been aimed at him.

_Yeah and raccoons will fly out of my ass, _Shukaku snapped. _You saw the way he looked at us. _

_But Tsunade didn't, did she? _

"And Gaara?"

"I attacked him unprovoked. It was all my fault and I accept all responsibility."

**No comments. Review I guess, and I am appreciating the new names on my reviewer list. Will update soon, since it makes up for my lack of story length. **

**Does anyone know how to get a poll off demo mode? **


	19. Counselor, Cage, Challenge

Tsunade believed him.

For one thing, on the first day of school he'd attacked Sasuke Uchiha for no reason at all. Second, he was admitting to it and she believed him because she didn't think he was a liar. Third, she could understand where the need to hurt other people came from. As mellow as Gaara seemed, any kid would get violent, unprovoked, if their father beat the shit out of them constantly. Gaara was a little messed up and Tsunade wanted to help him and if she couldn't do anything about the father (legally, that is), maybe she could help Gaara's obvious emotional problems. He seemed to have two personalities: anti-social and quiet; aggressive and sharp-tongued.

"I'm calling your parents."

Gaara jerked violently. Suigetsu looked at him, frowning slightly. Gaara's fingers clenched the arm of his chair until they were white, his eyes wide.

_"You told someone, didn't you? You told someone!" _

_Gaara screamed as fiery hot pain sliced through his leg. "Now we're going to have to leave. Again. Because of you! You ruin everything! You've ruined yet another life we've made here." He could only close his eyes as- _

"Suigetsu, you're excused, I'd better not see you in here again, Gaara, I'd like to discuss something with you alone."

The white-haired boy threw her a very strange look, calculating, a look she rarely saw on any kid's face. But she knew all about Suigetsu. He had anger issues and had been called up to the office more than twice a month for hitting someone or for clever, nasty pranks that usually got someone hurt. He'd been held back a year and she'd seriously been regretting this. Suigetsu surrounded by kids a year younger? Bad decision, at least if she'd let him advance to the next year then she'd be a year closer to getting him out of her hair completely. She would've never expected him to get in a fight with Gaara Sabaku, though. Suigetsu attacked the weak. And Gaara had proved on his first day that he wasn't weak. After all, he'd beaten up Sasuke Uchiha who was notorious for his explosive temper and fighting skill to back it up.

She did not like the look on Suigetsu's face.

_"Suigetsu Hozuki, get out of my office." _

A brief flicker of fear ran across his face. He turned and left, slamming the door shut behind him. "Ugh, he gets in my hair. So how are you, Gaara?"

Gaara stared at her. Why so friendly? He didn't know her that well. He'd just stayed over at her boyfriend's house. Still staying over at her boyfriend's house, actually. "Why did you hit him, Gaara?" The redhead fiddled with a hole in his jeans. He wondered how homeless he looked. Ratty shirt, ratty jeans, the same shoes he'd been wearing all year and would wear all year, ratty hair uncombed and not bothered with, tired bags under his eyes and a tattoo. He wondered if he looked homeless or a gangbanger. Probably the former.

"I want you to see a counselor."

This prompted him a response. "What?"

"You heard me, Gaara. I want you to see a counselor. I know what's going on with your father and I think it would be good for you to explore your feelings with someone-"

Gaara completely blocked out what she said. A counselor? What the fuck? Why? He didn't need to share his goddamn feelings, if anything, he wanted to hide them, not start whining about them like a goddamn girl. A counselor. Some happy-go-lucky adult who had a degree in child psychology and thought they were miracle workers. He didn't want or need that.

"No one will know but me and the counselor, all right? I won't call your father and tell him. Anything, not about the counselor or the fight or anything that goes on with you in school. Technically, as a principal it's my responsibility, but fuck that, I won't tell, I promise."

"Will you promise not to tell the police?" Suddenly Gaara leaned forward until they were face to face, properly. "Will you promise not to tell anyone, not to hint at it, pretend you don't know _anything? _Will you promise to stay out of it?" She stared back into those seafoam eyes. They were extremely intense, with a slightly desperate glint to them. In them, she could see defeat and submission and darkness. A wall. A wall fortified against outsiders. But not just to keep others out. To keep himself inside his self-imposed cage.

But there was something else. A small ember in the depths of his pupil-less green eyes. Something about that little fire... reminded her of the light Naruto sometimes had. About a hundred times smaller, but definitely a spark of... something. Something Tsunade was sure hadn't been there before. "I can't promise not to do anything-" as soon as Tsunade said it, she knew she'd lost him. His eyes faded and his gaze fell back down to his knees as he leaned back. "A counselor, Gaara. I promise I won't interfere or tell anyone. You have to do that yourself."

_What's up with that Sabaku kid? He totally freaked out when Tsunade mentioned calling his parents, _Suigetsu mused. _He looked scared. I've never seen that kid show any emotion besides really pissed off. He looked really scared for a moment. Maybe Kankuro or Temari will tell me something. Kankuro seems more likely to talk. Oh wait, correction, he looks more likely to let something slip. Temari? Not so much, but worth a try, right?_

He couldn't seem to let this one go. He'd thrown a basketball at Gaara to antagonize the redhead into fighting, hoping to test the redhead's fighting skills against his own. And he had. The kid was decent, he guessed. Too bad the fight hadn't lasted longer. Stupid ass teachers, he thought as he walked down the hallway. He liked messing with people, liked to hurt people and Gaara seemed like a good victim. Emotionless, expressionless, painless. That was the facade he put up for the school, but Suigetsu liked a challenge. He had a feeling Gaara had some big secret, something dark hidden in that blank face.

He liked a little digging.

**I like Suigetsu, even if he's a total ass. So, uh, he's very OOC. Like Sasuke. I wish I could say it was an accident, but his character is intended. Gaara has another enemy. **

**Hey, if you drank Suigetsu, would you get diarhea? You don't have to answer that. **


	20. Suigetsu and Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara

"So did Tsunade hit you with the old wrecking ball?"

It was lunch.

Like always, Gaara wasn't partaking in lunch.

This time, Naruto knew why. It worried him and motivated him to buy two lunches and go around the school looking for Gaara, which motivated a lunch monitor to give him an after school detention that he didn't care about, which motivated him to sneak around more stealthily, searching for his redhead friend. He'd already located the school cameras and he kept in their blind spots.. He was undetectable.

Unfortunately, so was Gaara.

It took Naruto half of the lunch period to find him curled up in a custodian closet, doodling in his sketchpad in the dark. To Gaara's discomfort, the blond had stepped in, flipped the light switch on and squeezed beside him, plopping down next to him. Gaara had leaned away and Naruto had glanced at his lap. "Whoa, you drew this without a light?" Naruto had asked. "If you're going to stay, turn off the light." Naruto had obeyed, glancing at the sketchpad. Green eyes like the sea. Without pupils, Naruto noted. Gaara's eyes?

Naruto could see odd swirls in that green color, like waves lapping against the shore. Inside the perfect green circles was a swirling pattern, a rich yellow color that wove and fit in perfectly with green ocean waves, curling and spinning in perfect harmony. Side by side, line to line, perfect symmetry. Push and pull, like an ocean current. But was that yellow color, was it-?

"It's sand," Gaara had answered the unasked question. "And the ocean."

To Naruto, the picture was absolutely amazing and beautiful.

To Gaara, it was a way of keeping his mind off things.

For a few minutes, they'd just sat in silence. Naruto had heard the slight scratching of pencil on paper and the sound intrigued him for a while. Scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch. It was oddly hypnotic.

But Naruto had to interrupt the silence.

So now, he had.

"Tsunade didn't give me a detention."

"But did she, like, yell at you?"

"Yes."

"Ah, but that's expected. No detention, really?"

"No."

There was silence as Naruto waited. He had a feeling Gaara was holding _something _back from him, something important.

"She's making me see a counselor." There it was. Gaara didn't know where the need to blurt that out came from, but he did know that he had to say it, had to tell Naruto.

"Well uh, that's good-"

"Save it, I've already heard it from her," Gaara said, his voice bitter. Naruto shut his mouth with a snap. He put his hands in his lap and realized he was starving and there was lunch on lap. Hunger bit his stomach and he opened the lunch bags. The smell of cheeseburgers filled the closet. Gaara wrinkled his nose. The closet already smelled strongly of bleach and other cleaning supplies, it didn't need to clash with the smell of food. He wondered how Naruto could stand eating something with those horribly strong smells in his nose.

"Gaara-?"

"No."

* * *

><p>Sasuke wondered where Naruto had gone. But then, he knew, didn't he? The blond fool was looking for Gaara and trouble.<p>

The raven briefly deliberated between going and finding the blond and staying here, but his decision was easy.

No way.

Naruto could go redhead hunting all he wanted. Sasuke wasn't going to bother.

Sasuke left his lunch table, knowing that no one would jump in his seat while he was gone unless they wanted to jump in their graves. He didn't actually have to go to the bathroom, but Sakura had taken Naruto's normal seat and was chattering nonstop in his ear. The only escape he had was the boys' bathroom and the moment she followed him there was the moment when he'd punch a girl. Seriously, girls, don't mess with personal space, especially in the John.

"Yo." Sasuke paused.

That white haired kid was there. The one Coach Guy had called Suigetsu. He was pissing with a cigarette in his mouth. He grinned at Sasuke, which made the raven uncomfortable. Guys were _not _supposed to piss and smile at each other. He walked passed Suigetsu and leaned against the wall. "You want a hit?" Suigetsu asked, zipping his pants back up. "What? No," Sasuke snapped. "Why are you in here, then?"

"Maybe I'm here to go to the bathroom."

"On the wall?"

Suigetsu snickered as Sasuke scowled at him. "Okay, you're not in here to piss, so what are you in here for?"

Sasuke thought about ignoring him, but since there was nothing else to do in the bathroom, answered him.

"You know Sakura Haruno? She's stalking me." Suigetsu smirked. "Fangirls forcing the mighty Sasuke Uchiha to hide in the bathroom? Scary." He waited for Sasuke to hit him, but the raven just gritted his teeth. "You don't have fangirls, you wouldn't understand, ugly. They're all crazy." Suigetsu chuckled. "Really?" He went over to Sasuke, far enough away to keep Sasuke comfortable, but close enough to talk to him.

"You know Sakura?"

"Yeah. She's a bitch. No offense, but your girlfriend is seriously whacked in the head."

"She's not my girlfriend! She spread that rumor, but it's all bullshit. The most annoying fangirl I have. Well, actually, that might be Karin-"

"Karin? I hate her, I could just kill her-"

They spent the rest of the lunch period complaining about people they hated and what they would do to that person if it was legal. They kept coming back to Karin.

"I have an idea. And it's legal too," Suigetsu said. "Tell me it's a prank," Sasuke said. "And tell me it's horrible and nasty and disgusting and demeaning and-"

"It is."

"Let's do it."

* * *

><p>Gaara wished their Computer Repairs and Mechanics teacher would stop taking days off. When he did, he always hired an inexperienced subtstitute to replace him and Naruto would convince them that there was a "choose-where-you-sit," rule. Then Naruto would sit next to him and all of his friends would swarm around him and he'd be fighting the urge to hide. They always dragged their chairs around Naruto and, inadvertently, around him.<p>

"So I'm gonna ask Sakura out-"

Immediately his friends set on dissuading him.

"Hell no!" There was a lot of head shaking and putting of heads in hands and groans.

"Stop embarrassing yourself, Naruto."

"That's like suicide."

"Do you enjoy rejection or something?"

"Yeah, what Shikamaru said, the kid's a masochist."

"No, he's an optimist, he actually believes-"

"Sakura likes to drool over Sasuke-"

"-Sakura will date him if he asks enough-"

"Neji has a point, Naruto's way too optimistic about it-"

"Why you'd like Sakura I'll never know-"

"Hey! Hey! Hear me out! Girls like having their dinner paid for them, right? So if I asked her to a really expensive place-"

"No way is Sakura going to, she hates you too much, man, you'd have to buy her a Ferrari before she even considers-"

"Don't be such a raincould, Kiba."

"You're one to talk, Neji. You're the wet blanket around here."

Gaara didn't pay their conversation much attention. He was content just watching their faces. They were so... happy. They teased each other and laughed and giggled and gossiped and insulted each other with a jocular mood and smiles. It was strange. They were all so lit up, so alive. So alive. Maybe it was his inner artist, but he imagined he could see a glow to them, that same glow Naruto had whenever he was with Sasuke.

The door squeaked open and Gaara's sensitive ears caught it. He turned in his seat.

Sasuke.

And behind him...

"You."


	21. In Which Orochimaru Acts Pedophilian

Suigetsu grinned at the redhead condescendingly, but said nothing. "Sorry I'm late, teach," Sasuke said jauntily. "Been busy."

It was all for show, though. The teacher didn't look up and didn't even seem aware of him. _Stupid Uchiha just wants to seem badass walking in ten minutes late and acting like he had something better to do than go to class, _Shukaku snapped. Gaara made sure to keep any and all aggression hidden, keeping Shukaku's anger back. He was impassive, his eyes flickering from Suigetsu to Sasuke, then to Naruto, who was babbling about something, probably Sakura, without the slightest change of expression, without blinking.

"Oh yeah, it's you from before," Suigetsu drawled. "Asshole."

Immediately Naruto was up out of his seat and throwing himself at the white-haired boy. Kiba stood up and held him back, but the blond began to flail against his hold and the kid was like a fish on a hook. "Someone... help- Naruto, you ass-" he resisted the urge to punch the blond only because Naruto was clearly upset. Oh, the temptation. It increased as Naruto slapped him. It didn't hurt too much, but something about being slapped really pissed him off.

Neji stood up and assisted Kiba. He got in front of Naruto and held him back with his own back to Suigetsu, one hand firmly planted on Naruto's shoulder and chest. "Naruto, now is not the time, nor place."

"But-you were there... you saw him throw that goddamn basketball!" Naruto yelled. "Believe it!" Neji rolled his eyes at his friend's use of his catch phrase, but didn't comment on it.

"No, no one knows if it was him or not."

Sasuke smirked. If it had been Suigetsu, then Suigetsu was better at getting away with shit than he'd first thought. His respect for the white-haired freak was growing.

"Wipe that grin off your face, Sasuke! Punch him in the gut! Punch him in the gut!"

"Ooh, are you going to listen to your mommy?" Suigetsu asked Sasuke. "If I punch you, then it's because I fucking want to, not because someone tells me."

"I knew I liked you," Suigetsu chuckled.

"Asshole!" Naruto screamed. "I know it was you, believe it! You're not tricking anyone!"

"Oh shove a dick in it, you don't see Gaara complaining, do you? There's nothing personal between us, right Gaara? We're cool? It was just an accident, right?" Suigetsu asked the redhead, who was looking at the floor. "Naruto, relax," Gaara said quietly. "Drop it." Naruto scowled at Suigetsu, then Sasuke, and finally Gaara. "I-I-eaaarggghhhh," he yelled frustratedly. "I know it was you! This isn't over!"

No, hell no, it wasn't over.

Gaara wanted his vengeance to have the element of surprise. But if Suigetsu thought he was acting, then he wouldn't have that element, so he'd better make this convincing.

"I'm sorry for attacking you, Suigetsu. I wasn't thinking. It was just an accident," Gaara echoed Suigetsu's earlier words. "Relax, Naruto, it was just an accident."

That's what he said. That's what everyone heard.

But his green eyes were narrowed, like chips of ice or daggers, piercing into Suigetsu's eyes.

_You'll pay for that, _they said. _You'll pay for it. _

Inside his head, Shukaku cackled.

* * *

><p>Suigetsu was eventually noticed by the substitute teacher and sent away.<p>

He saluted to Naruto, who glared at him, and smirked at Gaara, who didn't react, and waved to Sasuke, who flicked him off.

"It's so great being loved," he'd laughed before leaving, slamming the door shut behind him hard enough to make the door knob rattle and Gaara's sensitive ears ache.

"Jackass," Naruto yelled after him. "Language!" the sub yelled, but he was ignored. "I can't believe you believe him. There's no way that was an accident," Naruto yelled. "It was. Drop it," Gaara said. "I-" he paused as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him. Then he grinned, the kind of grin everyone who knew him, hated because it was a condescending look, the I-know-something-you-don't look. No one liked to see that look on Naruto.

"Okay. An accident. Everyone makes 'em," he'd chuckled.

"Yeah, some more than others," Shikamaru said with a pointed look at Naruto.

Everyone had laughed and Naruto had blushed. "Oh because you're all perfect human beings."

"At least we weren't born mistakes!" Sasuke laughed.

Naruto was now shunning Sasuke, though Sasuke didn't have Naruto's Science Class, so Sasuke didn't really feel punished. And besides, by the end of Science Class, Naruto had forgiven him. For that last insult. Not for getting aparently buddy-buddy with Suigetsu, but for that last insult. Naruto was actually going to have a talk with Sasuke about Suigetsu later on... oh wait, he couldn't because he had detention from that lunch monitor from when he'd been Gaara-hunting.

"Hmmmm, what's the problem, Mr. Uzzzzuma-ki."

Naruto jumped spasmodically as he felt hot breath on his ear.

"No-nothing, Mr. Orochimaru."

"Nothing? You're staring at Mr. Sssssa-baku again."

"Huh? Oh I wasn't- I was staring at- in that-general... direction," Naruto stammered.

"Right, well Mr. Uzumaki, I'd appre-ciate it if you'd, mhhmmmm, look at me instead," he purred.

Shivers ran up Naruto's spine and he gulped, fighting the urge to flinch. "Sorry, sir," he said, his eyes wide. If only Orochimari was in front of him, not behind him.

Behind him was way creepier than in front of him.

"Hmmm, good boy."

Naruto couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified and pale than he did right then. He gulped again and his eyes were almost perfect circles. Most of the kids hid snickers in their hands or leaned under desks or covered their amusement with coughs. Gaara fought the malicious desire to smirk at the blond's discomfort. All of them pitied him. Orochimaru was scary, especially with his little hum/chuckles and his way off drawing out names and words and making everything he said sound suggestive and lascivious.

"All right, grab a lab partner, we're di-ssecting toads today," Orochimari said. He winked at Naruto. "You can grab Mr. Sabaku."

Naruto flushed, but he did get up and grab Gaara's arm.

Gaara fought a flinch as pain spiked up his bad shoulder, but Naruto noticed the pain in his eyes anyway, and let go. "I'm sorry," Naruto whispered. "Forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. It was just a mistake. Just an accident."

Naruto froze. Gaara picked up the scalpel and poked at the toad's stomach idly. "You don't seriously believe it was an accident, do you? I saw him, I saw him laugh, I saw his face, it was no accident. He was laughing, smirking, seriously, you know it wasn't an accident, right?" Naruto watched as Gaara's scalpel mimed slicing through the toad's body the way they'd been taught the day before when they'd been dissecting frogs. "Hey, where are your gloves, man? And I wanted to dissect it! Believe it!"

Gaara handed him the scalpel and Naruto snapped Latex gloves over his fingers before taking it. He sliced the toad's gut open. "Wonnnnderful," a voice hummed in Gaara's ear. The redhead's facial expression didn't change, but he did inch away when he felt Orochimaru's body pressing closer than comfortable to his backside. "I really hate toads." _He looks more like a snake, so I guess it makes sense, _Naruto thought. _Snakes hate toads, right? Or do they eat toads? _

"Naruto, you're cutting too far up."

Naruto's hand jerked and he made a little bit of a mess with the toad's guts. "You should take this," he said. Gaara pulled the Latex gloves out of the box and took the scalpel. "Do you?"

"What?"

"Do you think it was an accident?"

Gaara sighed. The toad lay on their tray, forgotten, as he turned to look Naruto in the eye. Pure blue met hazy, ocean green.

"No. I don't. Drop it, okay?"

"But-"

"I want you to drop it, Naruto. Why can't you understand that?" He grabbed the knife again.

Naruto grabbed his wrist. "Gaara, I'm sorry," he said solemnly. So solemnly Gaara felt his heart hurting. Naruto wasn't meant to be sad. He was meant to be happy, like a ray of sunshine. He felt guilty for hurting Naruto's feelings and that guilt surprised him. He shouldn't have slipped up, let out even a hint of his anger, of Shukaku's anger at Suigetsu that was still boiling beneath the surface. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Gaara-"

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. Please drop it, okay?"

Naruto let go of his wrist. Gaara placed the knife down on the tray.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the period.

* * *

><p>Gaara sat in the library, IPod headphones pumping songs directly into his ears, drowning out all other noises and distractions. Which had it's advantages and disadvantages. Major advantage: No one could talk to him. Major disadvantage: Naruto could sneak up on him without his knowing.<p>

Which he did.

Gaara resisted the urge to jump as Naruto snuck up on him and jumped on the table in front of him.

"What?" he asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. Naruto grinned like the Cheshire cat and laid on the table, planting his elbows firmly in front of Gaara and putting his head on one hand

"I have to stay afterschool."

"So?"

"So you and Jiraiya are going to be at my home. Alone. Together. Alone. Two words. Alone-" Gaara held up his hand. "I got it."

"Okay, so stay after, all right? We can walk home together."

"Whatever."

"Great! You're the best, Gaara!" Naruto swung his legs off the table and pulled himself down off the table before one of their really old librarians came and had a heart attack.

"Wait, Naruto, is Sasuke staying after?"

"Bye, Gaara."

"Naruto."

"Bye!"

**Hey, does anyone remember the last time Naruto, Gaara and Sasuke stayed after school together? Yay, writer's block has died completely! Yipee! Will celebrate by updating uber fast. **


	22. Guess Who the Counselor Is?

Now that Gaara had commited himself to staying afterschool with Naruto, what was he going to stay afterschool for?

It turned out, he didn't have a choice.

"Gaara?"

Gaara looked up from the bookshelves. He froze as he saw black high heels in front of him and looked up. Tsunade. Why was she here? Why wouldn't she be in her office or something? Why the _library where he was trying to enjoy the quiet? _"I want you to stay after today." Oh. She was looking for him. That answered his questions. "For a counselor session with the school's counselor. You know where the guidance office is, right? The counselor's room is the room on the last door to the right."

_I have something I have to do today, I'm afraid I can't make it. _That's what he wanted to say, but she would easily sniff out that lie.

"Fine."

"Good!" she exclaimed. The black high heels disappeared as she walked promptly away. Gaara groaned to himself. A counselor. He was going to have to see a shrink. Just great.

Somehow, his free period seemed like the blink of an eye. Perhaps it was because he was dreading the counselor's meeting and wanted time to slow down. He knew that time sped up instead and he was soon ushered out of the library by one of their vulture-like lirbrarians. Gaara sighed and went to his locker to grab his things. Naruto ran by him, then skidded to the stop and reversed. "Hey Gaara-?"

"Yes. Go away."

"Gotcha! Thanks!" Naruto resumed his scampering through the halls and Gaara slung his backpack over his shoulder and grudgingly trudged to the guidance office. It was usually a place he avoided at all cost, a place he only saw when a certain blond made him tardy for school. And the counselor's room? Might as well be hell for all the attraction he had to the place.

Gaara dropped his backpack outside the counselor's office and rapped on the door with his knuckles.

"Come in."

Why did that voice sound so familiar?

Gaara grasped the door handle. As he pulled it down, briefly, he considered turning tail and running. Just run to Naruto's house-oh wait, Tsunade would find him.

So with a heavy heart and worry weighing his stomach down like a stone, he pushed the door open.

"Hello Gaara, you're expected."

_And you're not. _

"Mr. Kakashi?"

"Oh good, you remember my name."

"But you're the English teacher."

"And you remembered my class. Great."

"I see why you're so sarcastic and bitter now. You're the school counselor and a teacher," Gaara said, feeling slightly irritated with Kakashi's sarcastic quips.

"Ah, Gaara this is the most I've ever heard you say and here I was thinking you wouldn't talk at all."

This was going to be a long hour.

**Short. I know. But my writer's block is gone, so I shall update soon. **


	23. Kakashi Has His Ways

Kakashi: So how are you feeling?

Gaara: Depressed.

Kakashi: Why is that?

Gaara: Because I'm in here.

Kakashi: And why is that?

Gaara: Because I'm here.

Kakashi: And why is that?

Gaara: Tsunade can't leave me alone.

Kakashi: And why is that?

Gaara: Fuck you.

Now that was what Gaara was thinking of and he resolved not to say anything to Kakashi. But it wasn't as easy as he'd expected because Kakashi didn't ask any of those questions. Not in those words.

"Now Gaara, I know you're not to most talkative student I have, so I doubt you'll be the most talkative patient I've ever had."

_Patient? Who made him a doctor? _"Okay, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I like to read Makeout Paradise, do not judge me. I enjoy antagonizing people and you may ask me any question, though it is not guarenteed I'll answer. I graduated college five years before everyone else and Might Guy takes this personally. And honestly, he annoys me and I'm glad we're having this session because I don't have to see him. He comes to my classroom and it's generally a stress every day and believe it or not, not I don't have to counsel many kids. Every kid believes the guidance counselor is a happy-go-lucky smiling goon, but I assure you, I am not. That should be obvious."

Gaara nodded. "You know you can sit down." Gaara nodded again. "Gaara, you're making this uncomfortable, just sit, 'kay?"

The redhead sat on the couch. This actually made him uncomfortable; the back was leaning too far back. He diddn't like a position like that. It made his feel vulnerable, which was no doubt the intention. He sat, but sat up straight so he didn't have to lean back. Kakashi noted this, but didn't comment. "So Tsunade bullied you into this, didn't she?" Gaara nodded. He wondered if that was all he was going to be doing for the next hour.

"Right. So I get that you're reluctant to be here. Well that's good. If you were happy to be here, then you'd have no reason to be here. You'd have a reason to be in a mental institution perhaps, I guess."

Amusement glinted in Gaara's eyes, but otherwise he didn't react.

"Tell me something about yourself. I don't care what, it just has to be something I don't know about. Doesn't have to close to your heart or anything, just something to split the silence."

"I-" Something insignificant, something insignificant...

"Like Naruto Uzumaki." Hm? That was interesting.

* * *

><p>Naruto sneezed as he swept up the cafeteria. "You know when you sneeze someone's talking about you," fellow lunch monitor victim, Choji, said. "That's a stupid superstition," Shikamaru yawned. He'd only stayed afterschool because Choji had and now he watched Naruto and Choji sweep the school's lunch trash up. "You know you could be really helpful if you wanted to, right, Shikamaru?"<p>

"I know. It'd be too troublesome to help and I didn't do anything wrong."

* * *

><p><em>Damn, <em>Gaara thought. _That's not insignificant at all. _

"Really? I was under the impression you hated him."

"Shows what you know." Kakashi smirked. Defensive? Good, maybe he liked Naruto more than he was willing to let on. Kakashi had no idea why, though. But he could learn why. But he knew that he had to ask the question sneakily since Gaara didn't seem likely to answer anything even remotely sentimental. "Why? Does his stupidity make you feel smart? Because I feel like a genius around him."

Gaara barely seemed fazed. Okay, he wasn't too defensive. Maybe he had long ago accepted the blond's stupidity so wasn't affected by jibes at his IQ, which was severely lacking. If IQ was food, then Naruto would've died of starvation by now.

"Is it the way he's so faithful? Flitting from friend to friend and discarding them whenever he feels like it? I don't think he makes friends, more like he collects friends. The kid is so friendly and one dimensional. No real substance or depth. I imagine he's as transparent as glass. He doesn't pick up much either. Maybe that's why you like him so much. You can hang with him without him prying into your life because he doesn't pay much attention or maybe he doesn't care-"

"Shut up."

There was the reaction he was hoping for. Gaara's face might be apathetic, but his eyes were focused, not on Kakashi, but it was a start.

"You don't know Naruto-"

"As well as you do?" Kakashi watched Gaara's eyes squint slightly as he realized he'd been tricked.

"What do you know about Naruto, Gaara? What makes him different than anyone else at this school?"

* * *

><p>"Naruto, are you sick? Seriously, you're sneezing up a storm now."<p>

"It's just... ack-chooo! I'm-ack-choo!- breathing in-ach-choo, all of the dust-achchoo-in this damn-ack-choo!-cafeteria! This is insanitary-ackchoo! This much dust! So insanitary, I could sue this school. Like yesterday I think I ate some bad hamburger-"

"Yesterday was a snow day, remember?"

"Right."

* * *

><p>"None of your business."<p>

"Okay, okay, that's cool." Inwardly Kakashi was swearing. He'd seemed so close then and the same trick wouldn't work twice. Gaara had barely fallen for this trick, so he doubted it would work a second time. He'd have to be creative. But then, his creativity was legendary. He could come up with something. Maybe if Gaara wouldn't show sadness or senstivity or vulnerability of some sort, then maybe he'd show anger.

Kakashi certainly wasn't the nicest counselor.

But he was effective. He'd managed to get a reaction out of the kid no other counselor could elicit a reaction from.

**Review for Kakashi's odd ways! **

**"I didn't know what I had until it was gone." **

**-I don't know who said that, but Amen. **

**"Someone out there loves you." **

**some optimistic freak I want to punch. **

**"Life is the journey, Death is the destination, which is why I enjoy the journey more than the destination." **

**-someone said that, I just don't know who. Amen. **


	24. Kakashi Has A Way

Kakashi: Have any hobbies?

Gaara: No.

Kakashi: You've got to have a hobby. What do you enjoy doing?

Gaara: (silence)

Kakashi: Is there anything you really feel happy doing?

Gaara: (refusing to answer)

Again, this was not how Kakashi asked. "Hey Gaara, we still have another hour to go, like it or not. And I really don't plan on staring at you. As attractive as you are, I'm afraid it's a waste of time." "Like your job?" Gaara asked with a snap of attitude. _This guy's such a pervert. He probably does stare at students. He and Orochimaru should hang out. Maybe they do. _"Oh, I didn't know Gaara had a sense of humor. You always just seemed kind of vague."

Gaara didn't like those three words combined to describe him. He didn't have a sense of humor. He had a sense of attitude, maybe, and could verbally deal a devastating blow. But that was it. No sense of humor, just biting sarcasm and dripping venom. Kakashi seemed to find him amusing, which infuriated him, but he didn't show this. "Okay, here's a Tootsie Roll question: does Gaara like anything? And be careful how you answer because you can't answer Naruto, even though he's under the same category."

It took Gaara a half second to understand his meaning and his teeth gritted ever so slightly. Naruto was his only friend. He may not be the most tolerable person, but he was smarter than Kakashi gave him credit for. Gaara wondered which he'd hated more: the happy-go-lucky counselor or the cynical, sarcastic verbal match. Both of them infuriated him, apparently. Kakashi was trying to get him angry, as opposed to another counselor who could do it without trying.

When Gaara didn't reply, Kakashi sighed and scratched at the skin near the cloth covering his left eye. "Anything really. Sports for instance, or reading. Drawing? Basically, I'm just asking you what your hobbies are. Come on, you've got to do something in your recreational time." He paused. Gaara was not making this any easier for him. He was just glaring at the wall opposite him. "Okay, so is this your way of saying all you do is sit and stare blankly? I guess that's a hobby. If it fills your time and makes you happy. Are you happy, Gaara?"

The reply was expected.

Nothing.

"I'll take that as a no, since you're here. Maybe your problem is the lack of good hobbies."

Gaara just shifted. His right leg was starting to fall asleep.

"Or maybe it's your lack of activities. Do you do any clubs?"

The redhead scratched the fabric of the couch he was sitting on idly.

"I guess that's obvious enough. If you don't do clubs and don't have a hobby, then what on earth do you do with your time?"

_It's none of your business. Why on earth would I tell you? _

"You know doing nothing is really unhealthy for the human body."

_So is getting the shit beaten out of you ever day. _

"But then, based on your skin color, I doubt you care much about health."

_He finally got something right. _

"You don't care about yourself then?"

_Shit. _

"Why is that?"

_But I haven't confirmed or denied this. _

"I can read your face, Gaara, even behind that indifferent mask you wear. It's just a facade. Underneath the unchangeable rock, is a human being. You are human and you're hurting inside. You can deny it all you want with your attitude and aggression, but something inside hurts, doesn't it? You're human just like the rest of us." Gaara couldn't take it silently anymore. He hated Kakashi with all of his heart and the feeling was horrible, but for a moment, it consumer every fiber of his being. It consumed every other emotion he had. It gave him a welcoming break from the pain resting in his heart, if only for a brief moment. But everybody needs a break sometimes.

"Shut up. You don't know anything. But what else could I expect from a guidance counselor? Listen, you might've taken a Psychology course in college five years ahead of everyone else, but that doesn't mean you know anything. It doesn't make you a miracle worker, it doesn't make you-"

"So you feel it would take a miracle to help you?"

_Shit. What is with this guy? _

"It takes more than what you've got."

"I don't know about that. You don't know anything about me either. Maybe I'll surprise you." _I think I already have actually. _

_And maybe you'll be the same as the others. _

"I know what you're going through."

"No, you don't."

"Do I? Look at me, Gaara." This time, Gaara had the urge to obey. He looked up.

Kakashi had taken off his mask, the cloth covering his eye.

There was a scar running through his left eye, which was totally white.

"I know what you've gone through, what you're going through now. This is a testimony, as is that scar on your forehead. We're the same, Gaara, but the difference is, there's someone who's trying to help. You're not so different from the rest of us. You're not alone. You don't have to go it alone." Gaara couldn't take it anymore, not any more. He couldn't stand being in the same room as him, couldn't stand feeling so exposed. That white eye that couldn't possibly see anything else, could see through him, could see everything. Kakashi knew. He knew and he was trying to help. Trying to do what no one had done for him.

_But we're not exactly alike, Kakashi. You aren't a monster, are you? _

The redhead stood up and ran.

He couldn't stay any longer because he was afraid he would cry if he stayed any longer.

**Sometimes I wonder if I'm seriously messed up in the head. **

**If any of you meet me in the street, I will not be offended if you run the opposite way. I'd probably run away too. I'm seriously messed up. **

**CeruleanRipTide: I'm a horrible role model, don't follow my example. **

**caleebius: welcome back,**

**Bitches Love Reno (love the name): awesome new reviewer! Thank you, I'm funny, but in the bad way like funny in the head.**

**And special, honorable mentions to DarkAngelJudas, who's been here awhile, and HeartsNaruto, for reading and favoriting all my Naruto fics and TigrezzTail for reviewing eight times in one night. That takes commitment. Thanks to you all, especially those, such as Mantinas and again, TigrezzTail, for reading my other NAruto fics and reviewing. **

**And thanks to all the readers out there. **

**Quote: "You're voice is like a fly buzzing in my ear. Every time I hear it, I want to slap you." -Me**

**Warning: My brother has me writing his english essays, so I might be slow updating. Plus, I have like four incomplete stories, so I have to update all four by the end of the day. Since I update every day for all of my stories regardless on popularity. **


	25. Suigetsu's An Ass

**Okay, on with the next chapter. Kakashi's a horrible counselor, isn't he? Making people upset is the opposite of counseling. Then again, that is what counselors do. Make people uncomfortable and upset. **

**Warning: Dirty words exchanged. And no I _DON'T_ HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HOMOSEXUALS, so sorry if it seems offensive to gay people. **

**Oh and the quote: "Your brain cells are another endangered species." - Me to some jerk who threw a banana at me. Lame, I know.**

**Done blabbing. Start reading... now.**

_Gaara? You okay? _

_I-I_

_Gaara- _

_Please, just be quiet. Stay with me and be quiet, please. _

He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home. He did not want to be here anymore, he never had. He wanted to be somewhere dark and quiet. Gaara ran from the guidance counselor's room and grabbed his bag. He didn't want to give Kakashi an excuse to talk to him, so he didn't leave it behind when he wouldn't have given a shit otherwise.

He was planning on finding a closet and hiding there for the next ten minutes, but someone intercepted him.

"Hey Gaara. What's up?"

Gaara sighed inwardly. He didn't need this _right now. _He was about to have a break down any second and stupid Suigetsu, one of his enemies, was here to watch. Shit.

_Let me take over. _

_Shukaku-_

_I won't hurt him or anything, but I am here to protect you. If this asshole gives you shit, I'll give it back sevenfold. You ever heard the phrase? _

_No. _

_Let's just say it's not Christian. _

Gaara sighed and faded into the shadows of his mind willingly. It was dark and quiet here. He was safe from the world there.

And Shukaku took over in the physical world.

"What do you want?" Shukaku asked.

"Are you okay? I just saw you come out of the guidance counselor's office," Suigetsu said.

"Fuck off."

"Aw, feeling sensitive? I get it, counselors are real bitches, aren't they? Who'd you have?"

"Kakashi."

"Oh he's the worst." Suigetsu crossed in front of the redhead and slammed his outstetched arm on the locker, forcing Gaara to stop. Gaara glared at him, his fists tense. "Get out of my way," he said, threatening violence without words, just his tone of voice. "Ooh, I knew I liked you. You don't like being pushed around, do you? I like that. Part of the reason I threw that ball at you."

"Why? You felt like getting your nose smashed in? You seem to be asking for it right now," Gaara snarled, his face edging closer aggressively until they were face to face. "Ooh, I've never seen you so emotional before. Maybe Kakashi's better than I gave him credit," Suigetsu taunted mockingly. "And no, because I wanted to see if you were a pushover. I've seen your type before. You act all superior to the rest of us, but are wimps inside. But I guess that's not your type."

Gaara didn't know where he was going with this, but he did now the longer Suigetsu talked the stronger his urge to punch him got.

"So I like you."

"Fuck off, faggot."

"You're one to call me a faggot. How's your boyfriend Naruto?"

"Jealous that your girlfriend Sasuke's into him?" Again, Suigetsu smiled that horrible smile, that smug smile Shukaku wanted to knock off his face. "Hah, you got spunk."

"Go fuck off before I split your lip. It would be going easy on you."

"I know, you hit like a bitch."

Gaara punched him. Suigetsu blocked his arm and sunk his other fist into Gaara's ribcage. He remembered the fight in the Gym. He'd noticed. Noticed Gaara's extreme pain after his ribcage had been hit. His ribcage was more sensitive than it should've been (though being hit in the ribcage was no laughing matter anyway), maybe injured. It was a theory. One that he tested right now by hitting the same place, this time on purpose.

Gaara fell to the ground, in a fetal position, his arms wrapped tightly around his injured ribs. When he opened his eyes, Suigetsu saw something different.

A minute ago, Gaara's eyes were dangerous and dark, angry and aggressive. But now, they were helpless and pained. Like a totally different person. Like a wolf morphing into a sheep in mere seconds.

Suigetsu kneeled down and got close to Gaara's ear. "You know if you were as emotionless as you appear, than you shouldn't have this much anger bottled up inside. Let it out more. Don't hide your nature. You've got quite the personality, Sabaku. It intrigues me. You seem so distant all the time, but you're so angry inside. It's like you're two different people at the same time," he whispered, a grin curling onto his lips. "Maybe you've got a split personality disorder. Here's my advice for that: embrace one side. Be the submissive and weak one or be the angry one, but don't be both. It'll mess you up more than you already are, man."

He grinned wider and stood up.

In truth, he'd been guessing completely. Just a theory. His eyes were so different when he was angry, so different they couldn't be the same person.

Suigetsu was testing the theory. If there was even a hint of truth to his words, Gaara would look horrified.

If not, then Gaara wouldn't be affected at all. He'd be pissed or apathetic.

* * *

><p><strong>Gaara's POV from a few seconds before<strong>

Stars burst in front of his eyes. Pain. Burning, aching, horrible pain. He couldn't breathe, not without a white-hot knife pressing between his ribs. He wasn't even aware of falling down, just aware of the pain in his chest. Darkness threatened his eyes, but he struggled to remain conscious. He would _not _pass out, not here on the ground in front of Suigetsu like an animal.

Unfortunately, he heard Suigetsu through the pain.

And Gaara panicked. How did he know? Would he tell anyone? How much did he know? How did he know?

But Shukaku kept him under control.

_He doesn't know anything. He can't possibly know, he's guessing and he wants you to panic and prove his theory. Relax, Gaara, he knows nothing. _

Gaara relaxed and kept his apathetic facade up. Shukaku was right. Suigetsu didn't know anything. He was guessing.

The redhead and his inner voice felt satisfaction at the disappointment on Suigetsu's face when Gaara didn't react. His face was pained, but not panicked or alarmed. Gaara stood up painfully, leaning against the locker for support. He glared at Suigetsu, nostrils flaring. He was going to hit Suigetsu. Hard.

Someone else beat him to it.

"You asshole! I'm going to kill you!" A yellow blur flashed by him and Suigetsu reeled backwards with the force of the hit. He did stay on his feet though and he smiled.

"Oh it's you."

"Believe it!"

**Why do I have the feeling this chapter really sucks? Please review and tell me. **

**Too La(z)y to Log on: Ouch. The script bit was going on in Gaara's head, so sorry if that seemed unclear. So it wasn't really a "scene." I suppose I could've written it out as scene, but it would be a waste of time and writing and the whole script thing was more fun to write anyway, since that was how Gaara assumed it would be, but then Kakashi surprises him. And I think I mentioned I'm NOT a professional. That's why I'm on fanfiction. **

**Thanks to past, present and future reviewers/readers. **


	26. Bloody Secrets and a Backstabbing

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or the album Meteora by Linkin Park. **

**Greeting: What's up? **

**Quote: "All I want to do is be more like me and less like you." -Linkin Park, Numb, Meteora**

**Story Chapter: **

"What the fuck are you doing? Leave Gaara alone!" Naruto screamed, swinging his fist again at the antagonist. Suigetsu dodged. "It's for his own good. The kid's seriously fucked up in the head. He's got like two personalities or something. I'm just giving him some friendly advice: embrace one side. Heh, I should be a counselor," he chuckled. "Here's some friendly advice for you: fuck off before I bash your head into a locker!" Naruto yelled.

"That's friendly?"

"It's the nicest thing I can think of for a prick like you."

"Oooh, I didn't know sweet baby Naruto could say a nasty word," Suigetsu taunted in a ridiculous voice. Naruto lunged at him again, but Suigetsu scooted out of reach. "Stop running away," Naruto grunted. "I don't want to piss off my parole officer by killing some little twerp," Suigetsu said. "You should be glad I'm not attacking right now." "What about Gaara, then?" Naruto yelled angrily. "He's not a wimp, he wouldn't cry or call the police or anything. Though, he looks like he's going to cry now," Suigetsu added.

Naruto whipped around and Suigetsu sped off in the other direction before the blond could resume his attack. Naruto didn't care about him, though.

He was more concerned with Gaara.

The redhead fell to the ground with a light thud. "Gaara? You okay?" Naruto asked. Gaara gripped his red hair. "Be quiet," he said. "I'm not hurt. I need a minute." He leaned back against the locker with a sigh. "Why are you afterschool anyway?" Naruto asked, sitting down next to him and disobeying his command mere seconds after he said it. Gaara gave him a disbelieving look. "I'm afterschool because you told me to, remember?" he growled, misinterpreting the question. "But for what?" Naruto clarified. "_What _are you afterschool for?"

Gaara didn't answer. Which Naruto expected and could understand. Gaara seemed rather upset right now, so he didn't want to pressure him. Not that he had anything against pressuring Gaara. Just that he didn't pressure people when he felt they wouldn't answer or shouldn't have to answer. If Gaara wanted to tell him, then he would. This was one of those sit-it-out-and-wait moments. He hated these moments. Being quiet was not easy for him. Being quiet without fidgeting was near impossible. That's why school was so horrible for him.

"Counseling."

"You were in a session?"

"Yes."

Naruto paused and let out a soft, "oh." Maybe that's why Gaara was upset. Bad counseling session? He could understand that.

From what he'd heard from Sasuke, who'd been pulled in for sessions for "anger management," counselors were more harmful than helpful. He actually spent a good amount of time ranting and raving and swearing about counselors, so Naruto thought he knew what counselors were like, first hand from a victim. But usually, counselor victims were _angry. _Not all shaken up like Gaara was now. What had the counselor said? Naruto doubted Suigetsu had made him look so upset. Suigetsu could make Gaara pissed for sure, but not so... vulnerable.

"Who's the counselor?"

"Kakashi."

"Ouch," Naruto winced. Now he could see why he was so upset. Kakashi was a bit of a weirdo who liked to insult his students, albeit sneakily and subtlely. He wasn't the nicest, most gentle teacher and Naruto seriously doubted he was the nicest counselor. "Wait, Kakashi's a guidance counselor and a teacher? He needs to get a life," Naruto said, half joking, half angrily, trying to cheer Gaara up. Gaara looked at him, a small glint in his eyes, amused at something but not telling what.

"You want to talk about-? Nah, I'll be quiet," Naruto said hastily, seeing Gaara's you-know-the-answer-to-that look.

"Not as dumb as he looks."

Naruto smiled.

* * *

><p>The bell rang twenty minutes. Naruto had sat next to Gaara the whole time without a word, his legs twitching as he imagined going home and playing in the backyard or some type of phsyical activity. He had stood up a few times, but sat back down almost immediately. He couldn't seem to stop fidgeting, but as long as he wasn't talking and touching Gaara in any way, the redhead didn't mind the constant twitching of his legs or constant change of position or the twiddling of his thumbs.<p>

As the bell rang, Naruto got up, stretching his arms out high over his head. "Whoo! Let's go home, Gaara!"

The redhead didn't really share his enthusiasm, but he'd rather be at Naruto's house than here. He stood up slowly. "Oh wait here! I'm gonna go see if Sasuke's here. If he is, we can walk together!"

Gaara walked to the entrance to the school and waited for Naruto there instead. He thought about going to Naruto's house by himself as time dragged on, but he realized Naruto's door was locked and he didn't have the key. So he waited. It took Naruto a long time to come out and when he did, he looked really upset. Gaara's mouth turned deeper than his usual frown. What was up with Naruto? Why was he so upset? It was unusual on Naruto and it made him uneasy.

* * *

><p><strong>Naruto's POV<strong>

Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, where was Sasuke? He had to be somewhere, maybe at home, maybe at school, well if he was at school Naruto was sure he could find his best friend. Naruto skipped by the classrooms he was sure Sasuke wasn't in, such as Art, ignoring the weird looks he got from people passing through the hallways on their way home. He skidded to a halt and peered into different classrooms, checking. No Sasuke, no Sasuke, no Sasuke.

Where was he? At home?

Naruto was about to turn back, when out of the corner of his eye he saw something bluish black. He spun around and caught Sasuke darting into the boys bathroom.

"Sasuke!" He ran to the bathroom, pushing the door open and stumbling into the bathroom.

"Naruto!" Sasuke almost yelled in alarm. "What are you doing?" "I ask you the same!" Naruto said, pointing at him. Then he squinted. "What's it your hand?" he asked. "Is that _blood?_"

"I was dissecting a toad in Science," Sasuke snapped. Naruto frowned at him. Something was off about that statement and it took him a few seconds to figure it out. "You have Science first period, don't you?" Sasuke paled. "What's it from? Are you hurt?" Naruto asked. "No," Sasuke said. He reached for the sink and turned on the faucet, running warm water over his hands, washing away the blood and turning the water pink. "Sasuke, where is it from? What have you been doing?"

Naruto cussed as suddenly the door swung open, hitting his backside and sending him falling to the bathroom floor at Sasuke, who retreated back before Naruto landed on him. Naruto rubbed the back of his head, still cursing, and got to his feet, facing Sasuke. Why wasn't the raven laughing? Normally Sasuke laughed when he got hurt. But why this time did he look uncomfortable?

"Hey Sasuke, we're going to be in so much trouble if Asuma puts two and two together-! Oh hey, Naruto, haven't seen you for almost twenty minutes now!"

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm as the blond tried to attack Suigetsu for the third, or perhaps it was the fourth, time that day. "You little shit-"

"'You're one to talk, I'm like five inches taller than you, small fry."

"I'm gonna hammer your face in and-"

"Relax, Naruto, jeez, it was just an accident," Sasuke said, yanking Naruto back. "Wha-? Youre taking his side? Again?" the outraged blond yelled, his voice echoing loudly through the bathroom. Probably audible through the walls. "What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. "You saw him throw-" Sasuke was exasperated with his friend. "Get over it already. He did or he didn't, what's the big deal? Gaara doesn't care. You're the only one going psycho about it."

"Yeah but-"

"Shut up. Why are you so fucking loud?"

"Because you won't listen to me! It's like you're deaf!"

"Why don't you try saying something interesting for once?"

"Are you making this about me when you're being the bastard-?"

"You're such a-"

"Naruto, chill out. Sasuke, come on, let's go hide somewhere else before Naruto gives us away," Suigetsu said, breaking into the argument and shutting them up. "Who asked you?" Naruto yelled at him. "Me and Sasuke are having a discussion! So you should leave!" "No! Naruto, stop PMSing, seriously. Suigetsu's pretty cool. Seriously, you're the only one going nuts," Sasuke said. Naruto wanted to shake him until he saw sense, but he knew the raven would punch him and then they wouldn't get anywhere. "Sasuke, he-" Naruto paused, seeing Suigetsu flip him the bird. He knew that Suigetsu in the room while telling Sasuke about his earlier actions wasn't going to get him anywhere either.

"Sasuke, come on, let's go ho-" the words died in his throat as Sasuke just turned away from him and started to leave the bathroom. "What the hell, Sasuke? What is wrong with you?" Naruto screamed. "Shut up! Just shut up! What's wrong with you? Why are you acting like such a freak? Oh wait, it's normal behavior for you. Come on, Suigetsu, I think we're in the clear now. Sounds like we lost him. Let's go back for it."

"Lost who? Back for what? What are you talking about? What were you doing afterschool?" Naruto asked.

"None of your business," Sasuke growled, yanking the door open. "Come on, Suigetsu."

The two left, but not before Suigetsu's sly smile crawled onto his face as he looked back at Naruto maliciously.

When they were gone, Naruto could only stare at the door for a moment.

"When did it stop being my business what my best friend is doing with blood on his hands?" he asked himself.

* * *

><p><strong>Gaara's POV<strong>

It was strange. Naruto didn't speak a word. He just trudged along, his fists clenched and his eyes changed from angry to sad to confused every time he blinked. Gaara had never seen him so upset or so quiet. Well, he'd seen him quiet, just not this kind of upset quiet. Gaara kept wondering if he was going to cry. He hoped Naruto wouldn't, because honestly he had no idea what he would do if he did. What he _should _do. He wasn't good at comfort, never having it himself until Naruto.

Until Naruto.

Naruto was always there for him. He'd offered comfort when _he _needed Naruto most. He'd jumped through his window, for Satan's sake. The least he could do was ask what was wrong.

"Naruto-"

The blond actually stopped in his tracks. "Huh? What is is, Gaara?" Naruto asked, surprised that Gaara would initiate a conversation.

"What's wrong?"

There. Gaara had asked what was wrong. Now what was he supposed to do?

Apparently, just listen.

"It's Sasuke! He's being so distant and I don't know why! This morning we were fine, this afternoon, he's a complete asshole! I don't know what's his problem, I just know it has something to do with Suigetsu, that rotten, scummy-" he kept complaining and hating Suigetsu. Gaara listened. Well, kind of. He heard Naruto's words and understood the meaning, but he was paying more attention to his tone of voice. He was upset. Really upset. Which was obvious, so Gaara tuned in to what he saying instead.

"And he refuses to listen when I tried to tell him about Suigetsu hitting you. And he had blood on his hands," Naruto exclaimed.

"Blood?"

"Listen, Sasuke would never make someone bleed, he hasn't change that much, I know it, believe it-"

Gaara's own pessimistic mind was already calculating the odds. Probably not. Sasuke was a heavy hitter, but he wasn't that kind of violent person, not a blood-violence type. Maybe internal bleeding, but not the blood spilling kind. Not yet, anyway. It was probably animal blood. But what was Sasuke doing, messing with blood of an animal? Most likely from the Science lab, from one of the dissected animals, he was thinking. But what was Sasuke doing with animal blood?

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke's POV<strong>

Sasuke felt a little guilty. He almost never walked home without Naruto, not willingly or purposefully. He was already feeling that hollow ache in his gut. No. He was being stupid. Naruto was just being a wuss. Naruto was the stupid one. He was such a spaz. Why couldn't he just drop it already?

_"Dude, this is seriously demented," Sasuke said as they broke the lock to one of Orochimaru's Science school refrigerators. "Seriously, this is disgusting." _

_"What are you scared? Seriously, man, don't be a wuss. This is going to scare the shit out of Karin. I've got to see her face when she sees this in her locker." _

_"But won't it be messy?" _

_"Not if we just skin it and put the snake skin in Karin's locker. Not only is it freaky, but it also smells like shit. So like a double hitter. We can go to her locker and see her reaction. There's a reason to go to school tomorrow, right?" Suigetsu chuckled. He found the thickest, ugliest snake he could find. "Now help me!" Sasuke would never admit it later, but he started off really disgusted. For one thing, skinning a snake sounds easy, but it's not, even when it's dead. He had to help Suigetsu and it was really messy, even holding the body over the sink. Blood splattered into the sink. He got a lot of its blood on his hands, but before he could wash it off, Suigetsu yelled, "hide!" Obeying him without thinking, Sasuke had dropped the snake in the sink and hid behind a desk. Suigetsu hit behind the desk in the row behind his. _

_Just as Asuma walked by. _

_The Math teacher paused, seeing a flicker of movement in Orochimaru's classroom. And seeing the lock broken. _

_He opened the door. _

Move, _Suigetsu mouthed, his face thrilled. _Go, go, go! Move!

_Sasuke had scrambled to the opposite side of the classroom, Suigetsu mirroring his frantic scrabbling, just as Asuma opened the door. "Who's there?" he said in his booming voice. _

_They'd escaped through the door linking the two Science rooms together. Passed the refrigerators and into the next room. Sasuke was faster than Suigetsu and he made it out of the classroom first. _

_To that bathroom where Naruto saw his bloody hands. _

And goes crazy, Sasuke thought. He put his hands in his pockets. They had almost been caught. Almost. The adrenaline rush was over, but he had a feeling that Suigetsu could get him more.

_They had to go back to finish the job before anyone saw it. _

_"Now where were we?" Suigetsu asked as they went cautiously back to Orochimaru's classroom. _

_"You two are rather messy." _

_They both froze. Orochimaru smiled at them and hum/chuckled, the snake skin in his hand, no longer bloody, just wet. "How adorable. You know, if you wanted to skin a snake, you just had to ask. You almost destroyed this beautiful work of art. How clumsily you two are, hmmm." He gave them the snake skin. "Hmm, its so wonderful to see students interested in Biology." He laughed. _

_Orochimaru's such a creep,_ Sasuke thought. _But what does that make me?_

* * *

><p><strong>Gaara's POV<strong>

"Animal blood."

"And he's my best friend, even though he's a backstabbing- what?"

"Animal blood. From the Science lab. Dissecting animals, remember?"

"Wha-? Oh yeah, that explains it! But how come Sasuke was messing with animal blood? Is he failing Science and staying after to make up work? I don't think so, old Orochimaru creeps him out too much for him to even consider staying any longer than necessary with that pedophile."

At that moment, they were both thinking the same thing.

_Why do I have a bad feeling about this? _

When two people think the same thing at the same time, it's usually important.

Especially when one of them is Naruto Uzumaki, who was severly lacking in thought process and observation.

**Okay, here's the deal: **

**The longer the chapters, longer it takes to update. **

**The shorter the chapters, the shorter it takes to update. **

**Review and tell me how you like the length. Or really just review and tell me how awful/awesome/meh you think my writing is. **


	27. Quality Better Than Quantity: One Person

**Hello. I don't own the Christmas Carol because I am not the awesomeness known as Charles Dickens. **

"I don't know why he'd mess with animal blood-"

Gaara was still listening to the blond run his mouth an hour later. He was seated at Naruto's kitchen table, a Biology book in hand. He was supposed to be doing homework, but Naruto kept distracting him. Gaara would've just ignored him and done the homework just to avoid talking to him, but today, he felt Naruto deserved someone to hear him talk. Naruto was really upset. But now, he was getting a little tired of hearing Naruto talk about Sasuke. So he looked under the talking and saw the emotion.

"I just know he's going to get in trouble-"

Gaara scribbled idly on his essay paper. A circle, surrounded by a sharp oval, all surrounding a black circle.

"And that Suigetsu, why didn't I ever notice him before-?"

He colored the black circle in.

"He's a psycho, I mean I'd heard of him, but I never paid him any attention-"

He drew delicate lines in the circle.

"That's what he wanted, I'm sure-"

Gaara shaded in the circle lightly.

"Trying to steal my friend-"

He began to sketch another one.

"And hitting you? What an asshole, I just want-"

He sketched a bigger oval around the other two.

"We should mug him-"

Gaara was now paying more attention to his sketch than his friend, though he was aware of Naruto's words getting closer and closer to illegal.

"Tie him up and throw him in a pit full of-"

He added spikes on top of the oval, wild and all-over-the-place.

"Or maybe in the forest. No, I take that back, in the shit pit was better and the name's snappy-"

Now he added the smaller details with careful precision and a steady hand.

"Gaara? Whatcha' doing?" Naruto cut himself off in mid rant and leaning over Gaara's shoulder. His breath ghosted over Gaara's neck. His sensitive skin tingled and goose bumps formed, but he himself didn't react, only letting Naruto hang there studying his idle doodle. "Wow, Gaara, that's amazing!" Naruto exclaimed. He touched it tentatively, like he was afraid it would disintegrate. "It's like looking in a mirror!" It was a portrait of Naruto.

Gaara had drawn it from pure observation. Naruto's emotion intrigued him more than his words, so he'd drawn what he saw inside, underneath the talking.

His face seemed sad. Angry. Confused.

Mostly concerned.

Naruto wondered if that was how he really felt, if Gaara had seen it and drawn it as he saw it.

"Hey, what are you two doing?"

Naruto jumped and Gaara's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Jiraiya! When did you get here?" he asked. "I've been up here for a while. Listening to your interesting little rant," his godfather said. "Oh, you heard all of that?" Naruto asked, scratching his head, looking a little embarrassed and a little guilty. "I was kidding," he said immediately. His godfather eyed him. "Sure you were." "Yeah I was, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed. "Hey, can I have that?" he added to Gaara. The redhead nodded and gave it to him.

"Can I see that?" Jiraiya asked as he walked down the stairs. "No," Naruto said, but he showed it to Jiraiya, contradicting himself. Jiraiya was impressed. "You're an artist, are you?" he asked. "Nice job. You should take Art classes or join Art Club." Gaara stared at him until Jiraiya got uncomfortable and asked Naruto, to break the silence, "what's for dinner?" This did break the silence because Naruto was starving and started complaining and putting in dinner requests at once. As usual, Gaara abstained from dinner. He took his homework to the second floor living room and sat there. But he couldn't focus on his homework. It's not like he cared about doing homework, just that not doing it would result in someone talking to him and he didn't like talking.

He found himself drawing again, sketching on what, again was supposed to be his essay paper. And found himself thinking about Art club. Not considering it, not at all, just thinking about it.

A club? Hanging around other people willingly? No fucking way. Naruto was one person. He was unique. He might've been a blabber mouth, but he was more than that. He seemed like the last person to have it, but he had depth to him, a depth other kids lacked. He was the exception. Everyone else? No. Naruto was the only exception. Gaara had once read the Christmas Carol and read that Scrooge hadn't had anyone at his funeral. Back then, the thought of anyone grieving over his death was an impossibility. But he had thought of other people back then, wondering if quantity was better than quality, wondering how it felt to lose someone. Wondering if love even existed, if it was better to die unknown, or to die loved and causing the people you loved pain. And then he had wondered if he would be upset if no one came to his funeral.

Now, he was sure that one person would come to his funeral, when he died, whether it was sooner or later.

If you had one person at your funeral, just one person who loved you and cared about you and would miss you when you were gone, then did it really matter if it was just one person?

**I know, it's really short, even for me. Sorry. Seemed like a good place to end the chapter. So eh, OOC-ness? **

**Later. **


	28. Can't Think of a Name

**Later that evening: **

"Naruto, when was the last time Gaara ate?"

"I don't know, old man."

"You don't know?"

"He doesn't like eating."

"I don't care. You have to make sure he eats something. He's too thin. It's bad."

"I know. I'm trying, believe it, he's resisting."

"Resisting? That's your specialty."

"It's not as easy as pestering him, Jiraiya-"

"What do you mean?"

Pause.

"Sasuke made him eat at his house, somehow and he began puking."

"Puking? On purpose or just-?"

"I don't know. He seemed upset, but I don't think he's anemic."

"I think you mean anorexic and I think you mean bulimia."

"Does it matter what it's called? He stress vomits whenever he eats. It's bad. I don't care about the name believe it! It's-"

"Shut up. Have you seen him eat at all?"

"Yeah. But only a little. Never at lunch and he skips breakfast most of the time and you saw how he didn't eat any-"

Neither of them noticed green eyes peering at them between the banister.

And even if they had, they wouldn't have thought the owner could hear their whispered conversation. But the owner had sharp ears and he could hear every word.

**The next morning: **

**3:32 a.m. **

Gaara slipped out of Naruto's grip, wondering if the blond did this on purpose or if it was an accident every time he woke up in the morning with Naruto leaning on him. He went downstairs and sat at the kitchen table, staring at the homework papers he hadn't completed the night before. Oh well. Just a little more social interaction with the teachers than he needed. Whatever. He'd just zone out.

He stared idly at the fridge. Bulimic? The idea never occurred to him. Nor had anorexia. He didn't feel he was fat and he wouldn't care if he was. Was he? He didn't look at himself in the mirror often. He poked his stomach tentatively. Most of the time, he just wasn't hungry. His stomach felt tight all the time, like it didn't want food, and he complied with its wishes. He wasn't hungry. And whenever he ate with a tight stomach, it would usually come back out. Sometimes though, when his stomach loosened, he could eat without retching and he could feel the hunger his body repressed and knew then that he was starving. Then he would eat, but only if no one else was around. He didn't like eating with people watching him. Maybe it was because at home he wasn't allowed to eat. Or maybe it was just because he was used to eating food in secret, stealing food from his own food cabinet and eating in the dark of the night.

Now his stomach felt loose and he could feel the emptiness. He was hungry. And damn, he was going to eat because he had no idea when his chest would feel loose enough to eat again.

He was starving.

Gaara went to the cabinet and began rifling through. Nothing sweet. He hated sweets. Something spicy or anything lacking sugar. Well whatever this was would work. He took the can, read the instructions, and pushed it into the microwave. "Gaara?" The redhead jumped and spun around. Naruto was in the kitchen, in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Y-you know I ca-can't keep up with you- wait, are you _eating?" _Panic filled Gaara's senses and he responded without thinking, saying what he always did when he was caught eating more than he felt he should have.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he repeated. His eyes widened as Naruto approached him. "Please, I'm sorry, I know I'm not supposed to-"

"What do you mean?"

His blond friend's words shocked him back to sense. This was Naruto. It wasn't _him. _It was just Naruto. Not him.

"Gaara, are you hungry?"

A nod.

"Are you not supposed to eat at home?"

Hesitation, but a nod.

"Are you always hungry?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Are you hungry now?"

The redhead nodded.

"Then eat. I'm kind of hungry now," Naruto yawned. "Throw me a ramen, will ya'?"

* * *

><p><strong>Morning<strong>

**5:45 a.m.**

Naruto could barely remember this morning. Only vague words and phases came back to him, but enough to make him upset. In the morning, his brain felt kind of funny, like it was in the wrong place and it took a lot to jar his brain in place. The words he remembered were enough. _Gaara's father doesn't allow him to eat? Is that it? God, I want to kill that man even more than Suigetsu. _Naruto hated feeling so angry. He was so angry and the desire for revenge was growing in the pit of his stomach, a horrible, gnawing feeling that consumed his thoughts. He hated feeling so angry.

Angry at Sasuke, angry at Suigetsu, angry at Gaara's father, angry at Gaara, angry at himself.

He was just feeling really... off. So un-Naruto like. He didn't feel like Naruto and he wasn't sure if it was because he was finally snapping.

* * *

><p><strong>Morning<strong>

**7: 43 a.m.**

Once he finished four bowls of Ramen, he was feeling more awake and less upset. Now he felt much better and his anger was in check and he felt more like Naruto. "Hey, Gaara, how much did you eat?" he asked, voice still groggy. Gaara looked at him with some bemusement. Was he finally awake? The blond had been mindlessly staring into space with an unusual quiet and Gaara knew that his mind was asleep while his body was awake. To test this, he snapped his fingers in front of Naruto's nose. Naruto's eyes closed, but he himself didn't jump like he probably would've if he'd been awake. His eyes were dull. They lacked that sparkle Naruto always had.

And Gaara found himself scared of this. Naruto's eyes were never that dead.

But now, he was awake, properly, and that sparkle was back.

"A can of... whatever," Gaara said. "You don't know what you ate? That's crazy man, do you know how much you ate?" Gaara gave him a look. "Oh right, you just told me," Naruto reminded himself. "How much did I eat? I can't remember. You're crazy sleeping schedule is messing me up, seriously." "Four bowls of Ramen," Gaara told him. "Oh. Really, that little? I think I have time for another one-"

* * *

><p><strong>Morning<strong>

**8:00 a.m.**

Naruto didn't have time to eat, get dressed, brush his teeth, run a comb through his hair (ineffective, ergo pointless), gather all of the things he needed for school around the house, stuff them in his backpack and drag Gaara out of his house. But they weren't horribly late because Naruto didn't go out of his way to go to Sasuke's house and wait outside his house. He walked onward, refusing to even glance at Sasuke's house or even in that direction. Gaara knew he was still upset and that bothered him as well.

The blond and the redhead went to Gaara's locker first, since Gaara wasn't going to Naruto's locker and Naruto still wanted to talk to him.

"So I was dreaming about this Ramen-"

While he babbled in Gaara's ear, something else entirely was going down somewhere else in the school.

**Sasuke's POV**

"So wanna go see Karin's reaction?"

"Let's do it!" Sasuke said, dropping his books immediately. "Well hurry up, she'll be here any moment, then we can see what she thinks of a snake in her locker."

They hid behind the corner of the hallway where Karin's locker was. Here, they'd have a good view of Karin's face and be able to hear her scream.

But things did not go the way they expected.

Karin walked into the school barely on time and rushed to her locker. She spun the combination, but was surprised to find her lock was a little shaky, like it had been broken. Which it had been, just to remind everyone. She pulled the door open. And just stared at her locker for a moment. To Suigetsu and Sasuke's extreme surprise, she reached in and pull the snake out. She smiled, then smirked. And shoved her backpack into the locker. Karin clutched the snake carefully in her hand and smirked wider. She turned and walked directly to their hiding place, like she knew exactly where they were hiding.

"Oh shit! Abort, abort!" Before Suigetsu could scramble away, Sasuke grabbed the back of his shirt. "Wait, this looks interesting."

Suigetsu cussed him out, but stopped immediately the moment Karin got to them. "Very cute," she said. "It takes more than snakes to scare me. Nice try, Suigetsu. I imagine it was your idea. Not his. Now Sasuke, you can scare me any day," she said, giggling to herself. Now Sasuke would've been extremely creeped out by this partially nonsensical comment, but he was extremely impressed that she was not only touching the snake skin, but wasn't scared of it at all. "You're not scared of snakes?" "Are you kidding? I have a collection at home. You want to see it? Seriously, look how shitty you messed it up. It was you who did it, right? The skinning?"

"Suigetsu. I helped."

"You should've helped him more. I'm sure you would've done it better."

"Shut up, Karin."

"I get to keep the snake."

"Can I strangle you with your own snake, then?"

"It'd be fun to watch you try."

Her compliments and over flattery could smother him. But he was curious. Not just about snake skinning, but about Karin. Maybe she had more grit than he'd given her credit.

That was why he let her sit next to him at lunch. With Suigetsu across from him, snapping at her whenever he could.

And that was why Naruto refused to speak to him, even look at him, for the rest of the day. Maybe even longer.

But that was later on.

**Horrible ending, I know.**

**Don't worry, the lunch room drama will be written, but first I have to have the first five classes done. **

**Quotes: **

**"Life fucking blows." -anyone on the damn planet who knows it's true. **

**Later, readers and reviewers of awesomeness. **

**Special Honorable mentions to Battenburg507 and HeartsNaruto for checking out my other Naruto fics. **


	29. Coming Out of the Closet Chapter

Gaara didn't go to English first period. Why?

Because the teacher was Kakashi Hatake. And he didn't want to see the man. Ever again. Never.

He couldn't look at him the same way, or even look at him in general. Shukaku berated him for being a coward, but he couldn't do it. Couldn't face Kakashi. Instead he hid in a closet with the smell of chemicals in his nostrils for forty minutes. Doing nothing but sketching in the dark, not even aware of what he was drawing, just sitting where it was comfortable. He wondered if Kakashi would know he'd skipped out on English class. Probably. Would he know the reason? Probably. It was hard to slip anything passed him. Gaara inwardly promised himself that he would never, ever do another counseling session with him. Ever. Never. Ever. Again.

Naruto got to English unusually early, which meant he got into the classroom the second the first bell rang. Normally, he would stop by Sasuke's locker and talk to the raven, but today he didn't. For obvious reasons he didn't feel like talking to Sasuke. He didn't like going to English class so early, but he had no choice. Everyone else was getting to class on time, something he never did and wasn't used to. Only Sasuke would be late to class on Naruto's account; the rest of them turned and ran to class saying they'd see him later. There was no one to talk to. Even Gaara, who didn't care about getting to class had disappeared quickly.

But Naruto was shocked when he found Gaara wasn't there in the classroom. His seat was empty. Where was he? Where had he disappeared off to, if not to class, so early? Maybe he was skipping. No, he was definitely skipping. In the bathroom maybe? No, he didn't seem like the bathroom hiding person. Besides, hiding in the boys' bathroom was harder than the girls' because there were less stalls in the boys' bathrooms. More urinals.

Kakashi glanced at Gaara's empty seat. Somehow, he doubted Gaara was sick. But, according to Tsunade, he was living with Naruto at the moment, so he doubted the redhead was being held home by his abusive father or injured in some way, which lifted the certain weight he'd felt drop in his stomach the moment he'd seen Gaara's empty seat. And then he realized Gaara must be avoiding him. He wasn't sure if he felt guilty about that. Maybe he'd been too hard... maybe?

"Uh, Mr. Kakashi, I have to go to the bathroom," Naruto shouted without raising his hand. "The bathroom, huh? Class started," Kakashi checked his watch, "-four minutes and twenty-eight seconds ago." "I didn't go before I left home," Naruto said. Kakashi stared at him, amused. He'd seen Naruto's quick glance at Gaara's empty seat. Naruto was going to go looking for Gaara, wasn't he? Kakashi wondered how badly he wanted to. "No. It's too early." "Oh, but Mr. Kakashi that's cruelty, I mean not letting a guy do his business-"

"Yeah, animal cruelty," Sakura said. "Oooh, burn," Ino giggled.

Naruto ignored them and so did Kakashi. "Don't make me go graphic! Because, believe it, I will explain exactly what I'm feeling and what I gotta do soon right now! I swear I will, believe it! I'll-" Kakashi held up a hand. "No need to be graphic. Go. But be back quick. Don't get lost. If you don't come back in five minutes, I'll send a search team." "Uh, not it," Shikamaru sighed, crossing his arms behind his head lazily and contemplating the ceiling. "Not it," Neji said immediately. There was a chorus of 'Not its' and an outbreak of giggles. "It's nice to know you're the only pervert in here," Naruto teased Kakashi. "Don't you know it. Go before you piss me off more and I change my mind."

Naruto clapped his hands in delight. "Okay, I'll be quick, believe it!"

"Mph. I'll believe it when I see it." The blond stood up, knocking papers to the ground and tripping over his chair leg, pushing his chair forward into his desk with a squeal. He saluted to Kakashi, who looked like he was regretting his decision already. Too late. Naruto was out of the classroom before Kakashi could say, "disturbance." Which he no doubt would've if Naruto had given him time.

Once outside, the blond did what he had to do every lunch time.

He looked for Gaara.

A closet. That's where Gaara usually hid.

Naruto checked the normal places first, the places he and Gaara had sat in last, the most recent closest. Man, Gaara should find a place and settle down permanently. This hide and seek stuff was tiresome and he was wasting time. Closet, closet, empty classroom, closet, bathroom...

Bingo.

Or, in this case, Gaara.

The redhead didn't look up as light lit up the surrounding darkness. He was scribbling frantically on his sketchpad and paused briefly without looking up, pointing at the ground beside him. Naruto took this as invitation to sit down, scrambling over the discarded cleaning supplies and towels in the dark with only a strip of light from under the door to see by. He sat next to his friend and gasped in pain as the protruding metal corner of the nearest rack scratched his side. He snuggled closer to Gaara, who flinched away. "Sorry, I've got limited space," Naruto apologized. He felt the redhead tense, then relax against his body.

"So, eh, why are you skipping English?"

Gaara considered silence. Naruto could surely figure it out? Or maybe he was overestimating the blond's intelligence. If he hadn't figured it out by now, Gaara doubted he ever would. "Kakashi," he said simply. His hand moved on its own accord and his sharp eyes pierced the darkness and he could see the dim shape of the drawing. Ah, that's what he was drawing? "Kakashi? What-?" suddenly it clicked in Naruto's mind. "Oh, he was your counselor, right?"

He took Gaara's silence and the way it all added up as a yes. It made sense.

"How long are you going to avoid him?"

Silence. The pencil stopped scratching the paper. For a moment, all he could hear was his heartbeat, his breathing and Gaara's breath.

"I don't know."

* * *

><p>For the rest of the period, they sat together in the dark.<p>

Every second was boring to Naruto. But no more than sitting in English class was. The difference was, here he didn't have work to do or a teacher to listen to (not like he did anyways). It was boring in here, but it was painful to do English work. And here he could sleep.

Here he could also get shoved abruptly off when the bell rang and he woke up with his head lolling on Gaara's shoulder and the redhead shoving him off, albeit not as viciously as the first time it had happened. Naruto didn't know if it was because Gaara was getting used to the contact or just didn't bother getting pissed anymore about it. "Bye Gaara, see you in third period," Naruto grinned. He ran off to his next class, slipping on a towel and slamming head first into the closet door before grasping its handle and letting himself fly out, scaring some random passerby girl who screamed.

Gaara stood up more slowly, taking his time and stretching.

He ambled to the door and pulled it open, completely ignoring the looks people gave him. And the whispers.

"Did Gaara Sabaku just get out of the same closet Naruto was in?"

Of course, this could and would generate a lot of nasty gossip and jokes and teasing and perhaps go as far as bullying, but Gaara didn't give a rat's ass what sexuality they thought he was.

Art Class. With Sasuke Uchiha. Great.

Gaara glanced at his sketchpad.

At the picture he'd seen, drawn subconsciously and carefully with precision, but without awareness in the dark.

Kakashi Hatake. Without his mask. That scar. That eye.

That pain.

**Art Class up next. **

**I like rainstorms. **

**Thank you reviewers. My, there are a lot of you, more than I ever expected for this story. I actually wasn't even expecting to make a sequel. **

**I'm messed up in the head. **

**Later. **


	30. More Fun with Clay

Gaara sat at his assigned seat. He flipped to the next page of his sketchpad, but then closed it and looked up. Sasuke was standing in the door. He was laughing with a smirk on his face as he said goodbye to a red-haired girl and... Suigetsu. Immediately Shukaku spat, but Gaara just looked back at his sketchpad and tried to ignore him. His eyes returned to Sasuke after a few seconds though. Sasuke and Suigetsu were best friends now, huh? Gaara wondered how Naruto would take it.

Sasuke sat next to him. "What's up, Gaara?" Sasuke said jauntily. The redhead looked at him. _Since when were we on speaking terms? _his face said. Sasuke was the complaining, swearing type. The times when he engaged Gaara into a conversation was when he was angry and wanted someone to either agree with him or listen to him. Sasuke might be a bit of a loner, but he wasn't the reclusive kind like Gaara. He was the I-hate-the-world-and-want-everyone-to-know-it-so-I-aggressively-attack-others-verbally-and-physically kind.

What put him in such a good mood?

When Gaara didn't reply, Sasuke just shrugged and said nothing more. He seemed to realize just how out of character he'd just acted. But he did feel the slightest bit defensive. Was Gaara shunning him because Naruto was upset? Or was he just being Gaara?

In Art, they were doing sculptures. Small clay sculptures. Gaara was easily bored. He made three different types of animals out of his clay clumps, but was bored with that and re-shaped them since he'd be bored if he was finished with the clay thing only five minutes into class. Sasuke was wishing he had that luxury. Almost immediately, he again spoke to Gaara. This time, it wasn't quite as unusual because he started off cursing and in sheer desperation.

"Shit. Gaara, what animal are you supposed to do?" Sasuke asked. The redhead looked at him with amusement and scorn. He wondered if Sasuke listened in class at all. Hell, he himself didn't listen, but he knew what the assignment was because- Gaara pointed at the chalk board where it proclaimed the assignment in bold white letters. Could it be any more obvious? "Oh, any animal then?" Sasuke asked. Gaara just went back to his sculpture, allowing Sasuke to take his own conclusion from his silence. He would never admit it, but he was the slighest bit irked with the raven for hanging out with Suigetsu and hurting Naruto's feelings.

Soon that silence was broken. Gaara knew it wouldn't last.

"Damn it! Animals! Really! How as we supposed to know how to do this shit? It's animals! It's too hard for kids to do," Sasuke groaned. "Animals with all their details and shit, how is anyone supposed to shape this shitty mush to resemble anything even close to living?" Gaara resisted the urge to smirk. He poked his own animal into gray mush before reconstructing it. Sasuke glared at it grumpily. "I-I meant kids without artistic genius! Geez, wipe that smug look off your face," he snapped. Then his face turned despairing. "Why is this so fucking hard?" He tried to shape its head first. The animal, he told himself, was a snake. The limbless body was easiest for his clumsy hands and after four attempts at legs, he just stuck with it.

Its head resembled... a lump of clay. Which it was, Sasuke thought angrily to himself. "This is impossible. It's clay. It must take a miracle to change it into an animal," he said. "This is impossible and stupid and-" he looked at Gaara's creation. It was, of course he thought to himself grumpily, perfect. Flawless. Sasuke could tell exactly what it was. Well, not quite. It was a strange animal, like a raccoon but more dog-like, yet somehow cat features were also present. Sasuke wasn't sure what animal it was, but the detail was flawless. Amazing.

He himelf just couldn't tell what animal it was.

And to his utter astonishment, Gaara crushed the animal into mush seconds after finishing the thing. "Why are you doing that?" Sasuke asked.

Gaara didn't feel like answering.

"Okay! You know what? You're not my friend, Gaara! What's your problem? Are you shunning me because you're pissed with me for hanging out Suigetsu? Are you still holding a grudge against him or something? I told Naruto you weren't some bitch with an attitude, but I guess I might be wrong- unless Naruto put you up to this? That kid is impossible," Sasuke snapped loudly, alarming the girl behind him. She jumped, dropping her ball of clay, but she picked it up quickly and ran back to her seat, not wanting the annoyed raven to notice her.

"He didn't put me up to anything."

"Than what is it?"

"I don't like you," Gaara said simply. "We got along fine yesterday," Sasuke countered. "You might not have noticed, but I was insulting you the whole time," the redhead said dryly. "In my book, that is getting alone fine. So what's the deal, then?" Gaara clenched the clay in his hand from into pulp. "Naruto told you about our argument yesterday in the bathroom, didn't he? Well it was his fault, he's such a pain in the ass-"

"It's why you two get along so well," Gaara said icily.

"What? What is your problem?"

"My problem is that you're hurting my friend. Your friend."

"Your friend? You don't even like him!" Sasuke snapped.

"Shows what you know, doesn't it?" Gaara scowled.

They just glared at each other for a moment. Both of them had formidable glares and both of them refused to look away willingly.

"Yo! You two! What's with the cute staring? You have to focus on your work- oh wait, correction, Sasuke has to focus. I see you've got a little creation already done, Gaara. Well done," Deidara said. Sasuke looked down. While they'd been glaring, Gaara's hands had been unconsciously forming an animal. He was briefly jealous as he stared at the tiny sculpture. Gaara could make perfect animals without looking or paying attention to the clay in his hands.

Gaara noticed his jealousy and a smirk briefly crossed his face. Sasuke noticed and scowled. "Art's a stupid fucking subject. What's the point in playing with these clay balls? It's not like they do anything or are any use to anyone. Just like you, Gaara."

"There is no point is 'playing' with clay balls. That's why you're a virgin."

Sasuke punched him. Gaara pushed himself back, avoiding the hit and getting out of range. He put his animal on the table and held his fists up. If Sasuke wanted a fight, he'd get one. He could feel Shukaku baring his fangs. Sasuke had a murderous glint in his eye. He was angry. Both of them were. Gaara was surprised to find that the anger wasn't just flowing from Shukaku, but he himself as well. He was angry. Angry that the raven would be so mean to his best friend. The friend he himself had always wanted, but Sasuke had always had. The friend Sasuke didn't deserve if he was just going to throw him away so easily for a scumbag like Suigetsu.

"That's enough." There it was. That sad voice. Deidara looked over his shoulder and saw his redheaded partner. "Sasori, my man, what's up?" "What should be 'up' is you stopping a fight that might've gone out of hand," Sasori said smoothly. "Wha-? Oh I guess I was just too amused with what's going on to do anything," Deidara said, smiling. His hands fiddled with a clay ball in his hand, easily forming a bird without looking. Sasori's nose wrinkled. He hated the smell of clay.

The bell rang. Sasuke stood up and kicked his stool under the table, glaring at Gaara venomously. He threw his clay creation to the table and went to the sink to wash his hands. Gaara glared at his back. Shukaku wanted to go beat his ass and shove clay down his throat, but Gaara held him back. He gathered his things, forgetting about the drying clay on his hands until he found gray smears on his things. Whatever.

"Heeeeyyyyy, Gaa-raaa, are you done? With your animal?" Deidara drawled. Gaara had forgotten about his animal. He glanced back at it. "Yeah, I'm done-" he said.

That was weird. When had that idea crossed his mind?

The sculpture was a fox.

**I forgot Deidara's "un"'s. I forgot about that and inserting it here seems kind of awkward, so his accent is gone. Sorry. **

**I really have nothing to say. **


	31. Losing a Friend

Naruto could feel the tension between Sasuke and Gaara. It was one of those sit-wherever-you-want days. They had them a lot in Math. Naruto sat beside Gaara, who sat in the back right corner. Sasuke was near the front and Gaara was practically burning a hole through the back of his head. Gaara's eyes were intense and his hands were clenched into fists. "Hey, Gaara, you two have Art together right? What happened?" Naruto asked. Gaara just shook his head angrily. He was so angry and it was so... refreshing. He didn't feel so dead anymore. It was a strange feeling.

Asuma started teaching, but the redhead and the raven were still feeling that tension. It was like a bomb ready to blow.

Sasuke could feel Gaara's gaze on him, but he refused to look back.

Gaara was just being... ergh, Sasuke wanted to just punch him. What was wrong with having friends besides Naruto? The crazy blond was just being sensitive and Gaara, being emotionally and socially messed up thought being a good friend meant going alone with anything Naruto said. As soon as the thought came to his head, he realized the problem with Gaara. He didb't understand that people could have more than one friend. That Naruto was just over-reacting. Sasuke had known Naruto for much longer than Gaara did. He knew the blond got worked up for nothing and was fine the next day. He was sure that by the end of the day, the blond would be just fine with him. And Gaara would apologize.

What did Sasuke do to you? 

Gaara glanced at the piece of paper and immediately scribbled a reply.

We almost fought in Art Class. 

Really? How?

He started it. 

Sure he did. 

Gaara finished reading the note and gave Naruto a look. Really? Naruto thought he would start a fight? _Well, I did start a fight on the first day of school, remember? It's not so hard to believe. But this time, I started the fight,_ Gaara thought. _I did._ The thought confused him. Shukaku was normally the one who lashed out at people. Not him. Things had gotten so confusing since Naruto's party. Sometimes he felt so confused and so unlike himself, he wished he'd never moved here, never met Naruto, kept himself in that dark, dark place. It was what was comfortable. He understood pain and he understood his life back then.

_But it wasn't really living, was it, Gaara? _

Shukaku's words surprised him.

_That dark place, it was your kingdom. You could do whatever you wanted in the outside world while I was in that place. Why-? _

_You never understood, did you, Gaara? I only wanted to be out to protect you. To be there for you, to be strong for you, to be what you should be. You couldn't summon the strength to fight, so beaten down and lost in the darkness. I had to help you. You were losing the will to live. I had to keep you alive. Letting me out kept you alive so long ago. Now I'm sorry I was so mean before, trying to keep you doubting yourself, but it was necessary then. You would've never let me out if I hadn't. If you hadn't stayed in that dark place. _

So many things about what he'd just said should've upset or angered Gaara, but at the moment, he didn't feel like getting upset or angry. He felt emotionally wrung. After so many years of not feeling anything, finally feeling a strong emotion was enough to make him wish for the unfeeling. He just felt like hearing what Shukaku had to say.

_Now, you don't need me. _

Those words chilled his heart.

_No. No you can't- _

_You have Naruto. You have anger and you aren't alone anymore. I'm not needed anymore. _Gaara thought he detected a hint of sorrow in his friend's firm tone.

_Please, no, I haven't abandoned you, I promise- _he fought tears. He was going to be alone. He was going to be alone. He couldn't take it-

_You won't be alone. You'll have Naruto- _

_I won't have him for long. After the week is up, I- _

_You don't realize it, do you? _

_Realize what? _

_You don't need me. You're free, Gaara. You can be free of me and you can be free of _him. _I cannot help you with him. Not when you're afraid of him. _

_But you can protect me-_

_You rely on me too much. You cling to me and it's partially my fault for making you so insecure. Don't you understand? The reason you don't fight for yourself, is because I've been fighting for you. You cling to me and when you are scared and feel I can't help you, you force me back. That's why you find yourself unable to fight back. Because I am you, Gaara. My power, my strength, everything about me is you. You can fight, Gaara. _

_I don't-please, don't leave me, I need you- _

_No you don't. You need yourself. You alone can help yourself, I promise. _

_You also promised you wouldn't leave me! Please, I don't want to be alone, I don't want to, I can't- _

He could feel Shukaku's presence fading. Farther, farther, farther. He was leaving. He was going farther into nonexistence than he'd ever gone before, almost to the point of no return. Gaara grasped desperately at the voice, but Shukaku was fading. He was going. Leaving. Gone. He was gone. His friend, the voice, it had been there since he was six, it had protected him, shielded him, was gone. Gone. There was only a hole where he'd once been. A tear. A rip. An aching emptiness he hadn't experienced for a long time.

That emptiness.

_No. There is nothing. Shukaku was wrong. I can't- I don't have anger, I don't have emotion, I'm just as lost as before, but this time..._

_I don't have anyone. _

**? **

**What do I say?**


	32. What's Familiar

Naruto didn't know what was wrong with his friend, he just knew it was bad. Gaara wouldn't look at him, wouldn't look at anything, just staring straight ahead. Naruto couldn't see his eyes from here, but he could see Gaara's tense shoulders and the way his jaw was tense. Naruto frowned. What was he upset about? What was the problem? He leaned over the aisle. "Gaara, you okay-?" he started to whisper, but before he could even get his friend's name out or even touch his shoulder, the bell rang. For the first time, Gaara was out of his seat before anyone else. He stood up quickly and ran from the room. "Gaara?" Naruto yelled, ignoring the looks people gave him. "What-? What's wrong?" Naruto was up and after him in a flash, tripping over desk legs and stumbling as chairs were pullled out as people started to leave.

Gaara couldn't stand being alone in a room with _them. _None of them. He couldn't be alone with so many of these people, these people. He didn't trust any of them. He couldn't fight, couldn't be strong, couldn't do anything without his other half. Shukaku's presence was a hole in his chest, almost one he could feel physically. Emotionally, it was tearing him to pieces. He'd lost his friend. His only friend. An old friend who'd been there for him since he was six. Was gone. The only one who really knew him, who really understood him, was gone.

He felt the need to get somewhere quiet. Dark. Familiar. That's what he needed. The familiarity. But he couldn't get to the darkness. Not in his mind.

Because it wasn't there anymore. The darkness was gone. What was familiar was gone. Shukaku was gone.

Everything seemed surreal to him. A dream. A fantasy. Nothing was real. It was too bright in here.

Gaara moaned and gripped his head, hating the noise, hating the light, hating everything.

"Gaara? What's up?" he felt Naruto's hand on his shoulder and he flinched, shoving the offending flesh away. "Go away," Gaara snapped. The horrible anger. He felt it surging up into his throat and it was horrible, consuming. He could see only red. Why? Why had Shukaku left him? Because of _him? _Naruto? It was Naruto's fault Shukaku was gone. It was Naruto's fault he felt so alone, that he was so alone. "Leave me alone!" Gaara snapped. He punched the blond hard enough to send him flying with a bang into the lockers, hard enough to dent the metal, hard enough to hit the locks and open a few of them. There were screams and yells and swearing. Several people laughed and to Gaara, that laughter was mocking towards him. His fists clenched and he wanted it all to end now. He was so angry and so alone and so confused.

"Gaara?" Naruto muttered. He was hurt, but not physically. He was hurt because Gaara was obviously hurting. The redhead was staring at him with pained eyes, with eyes that were hurting, hurt to look at. Terrible anger, terrible anguish, suffering, loneliness. "Gaara, what-?" His friend just turned on his heel and ran. "Wait!" Naruto stood up quickly. His head was hurting like hell from the bashing and he was seeing white stars, but he managed to run after the redhead.

Someone grabbed him, holding him back by the shoulders. "Let him go."

Naruto turned, his eyes turning to his best friend's. "I can't," he whispered. "I can't let him go. If I do, he'll be alone."

* * *

><p>Gaara didn't know where he was going. He just knew he had to get out. Get out, get out, get out. Get out of here. Get out of this school, get away from these people, find somewhere familiar. He shoved passed person after person, ignoring their irritated yells and cussing after him.<p>

He wanted to go home. Home. His real home. Home was where he felt closest to the dark, where he felt the most comfortable, maybe not happiest or safest, but most comfortable. He'd experienced that happiness. It had been warm. But perhaps he didn't deserve it. Maybe he didn't belong in the warmth and the light. Maybe he belonged to the cold and dark. Maybe that was who he was. Home was where the heart is, right? That was the saying, right? He wanted to go home. It was his instinct to go home. And right now, in his confusion, anything that felt solid was something to cling to. He needed to get somewhere familiar.

Gaara turned to the school's doors. He wanted out. He was going to go out and go home.

Someone grabbed him.

Gaara twisted and flailed, trying to punch the person without thinking. "Relax, kid, it's me."

**As this gets more angsty, I suggest you review. Just a suggestion. **


	33. Only One Half of a Whole

Kakashi grabbed both wrists firmly. "Gaara-?"

"Leave me alone! Let me go!" Gaara yelled. With surprising strength for such a scrawny teenager, he yanked his arms free and tried to punch Kakashi, but the guidance counselor caught his fists easily. "What's the problem?" Kakashi had been in the hallway when Gaara had punched Naruto and guessed it must've been bad. Hadn't Gaara said Naruto was the only thing he'd liked? What had elicited such an angry response? He himself hadn't managed to elicit much of a response from Gaara. Well, running out of his office was a response, but Gaara hadn't tried to hit him. Like he'd done to Naruto or what he was trying to do now. "Why are you so pissed at Naruto?" Kakashi asked. He had to assume this wasn't a usual thing. Naruto had seemed stunned and Gaara had seemed the slightest bit unhinged when his fist had swung. Panicked. What had elicited said panic? He seemed really upset and now he was breathing heavily. His eyes were darting to the doors. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Got a date?" Gaara didn't respond, only yanking his fists free. "Let go of me!"

But he didn't try to run or hit Kakashi again. His eyes were wild and his hands protectively bent, but he didn't try to hurt his counselor and teacher anymore. "Where are you going?" Kakashi asked. Gaara didn't reply. He bit his lip and said nothing, just glancing down at his feet, his shoulders tense. Kakashi didn't say anything as the bell rang and the hallways cleared, though their current hallway, being close to the doors, was fairly empty since school wasn't even close to being over for the day.

"Why don't you follow me?"

Gaara's mind was in turmoil, but he had calmed down. He was feeling too vulnerable, too weak. His walls and barriers were down. He couldn't concentrate. That black nothingness in his mind was so consuming. _Shukaku, Shukaku, please come back. _No answer. He couldn't keep his emotionless facade up anymore. He had nothing to hide. No anger, no pain, no emotion, there was nothing. Shukaku was his anger. He was just his pain, his sorrow, his uselessness, his weakness. One half of a whole. Shukaku's presence was everything that made him alive. Without that half, the other half didn't know how to survive.

He had nothing to hide, because there was nothing inside.

Gaara sat on the couch and Kakashi sat across from him as he had before with his elbows resting on the desk, his fingers linked together.

"Gaara, what's my name?"

"Kakashi."

"What's your name?"

Gaara just stared at him. Who was he? He didn't feel like Gaara. He didn't feel like anything.

"Gaara, are you messing with me or are you zoning out?"

He'd told himself just this morning he'd never look at Kakashi again, but that was when he'd felt... something. When he'd been alive. Right now he felt dead. Maybe he'd always been dead.

Kakashi frowned. No reaction at all. This time, though, there was no wall. Gaara wasn't trying to keep a straight face with him. The counselor could tell when he did that. His face would be completely icy and unfeeling. But now, he could see emotion. And emptiness. Not emotionless facade. Just nothingness. Gaara was far away from himself. And it was Kakashi's duty to bring him, back. "Gaara? Gaara, are you okay? I saw that hit in the hallway. You want to tell me what happened?" Kakashi asked, raising his voice slightly. Gaara didn't respond. Just bit his lip until it bled.

"Goddamnit, you know what? You're going to tell me what happened whether you want to or not," Kakashi said.

Gaara stared at him. _He's the worst guidance counselor ever. It's like he's saying, "you're going to stop being depressed whether you like it or not." Maybe he does say that. _

"Well? Okay, today I ate cereal for breakfast. I watched the news channel this morning and got horribly depressed. It made me think of how pointless fighting and war and crime and looking for crime and basically everything I saw, is. Everything is pointless." _Everything is pointless. He's a shitty guidance counselor. _No anger, no irritation, no impudence, just cold fact. Inwardly, he shivered in the icy landscape of his heart and soul. "But then-"

But? But what? What was there to live for?

"Then I visited the grave of a good friend I once had. One person who meant more to me than anything else in the world. Who mattered more to me than myself."

Gaara wished he cared about himself. At this moment, dying wouldn't be bad. If anything, it was welcome.

"He was friendly. Kind. Caring. Not too bright. He was energetic and really in-your-face. He was loud mouthed and I thought he was extremely annoying at first. I didn't like him much. I was anti-social. People were too loud for me then. I didn't like him and I didn't feel I would ever like him, or anyone at all. I didn't want friends and I didn't want to make friends. Like you, my father beat me into the darkness and I didn't bother trying to get out of it, because it seemed pointless." Now he had Gaara's attention. His mind stopped wandering and he almost sighed in relief. Having a focus was a relief. If his mind drifted anymore, it would fade away like Shukaku had.

"But he was a persistent little guy. He wouldn't stop bugging me. He was annoying and I punched him more than I talked to him. He followed me home, right up to my porch and only left after a few minutes standing on my doorstep. I'd slam the door in his face, but he'd still come back for more. He always sat next to me in class and when I was sick, he snuck to my house to take care of me when no one else bothered. It was then I realized what I had. A friend. Something I had never had before."

Kakashi paused. He looked at Gaara, who looked back at him. The counselor was pleased to see some interest in his eyes. "Sound familiar?" Kakashi asked before pressing on.

"When I realized that, I never told him. I treated him the same way I did before and he was the same way as he was before. I never told him. I never got to. My father was a real demon when he was drunk and I didn't know he was coming home that day. That horrible, horrible day. The one day I'd let Obito in my home. The first time. The last time. he had always had a suspicion. He saw my injuries and knew it wasn't from bullies. He'd seen me fight and felt my punches. He knew it had to be someone I trusted, someone I wouldn't hurt in retaliation. So he came to my house. He was smarter than I'd given him credit for."

_Sounds like..._

"Sound familiar?"

Kakashi didn't wait for the answer he knew wasn't coming.

"He came to my house. He saw my drunken father come in. I told him to hide, to escape and leave. I was angry and afraid he'd see my pain, see my suffering, see the real me, the me I hid inside. So yelled at him. Told him to 'leave me alone.' I told him I didn't like him and didn't want him to stay. Wanted him to leave me alone. Asked him to listen to me for once. And I thought he did. When my father screamed my name, I went downstairs, knowing he would be angrier if I stayed in my room and being too scared to run."

Everything was horribly familiar to the redhead. He knew. This was just how it felt to him. Memories flashed across his eyes of similiar nights and days, of similiar pain and remembered pain, mental and physical. Kakashi removed his mask. That eye. That pain. Everything. It had seen everything he'd seen.

"I knew what was going to happen to me. I knew I'd be hurt and I felt guilty for hurting my friend. I just thought he was safe, thought I was protecting him, and this thought gave me the strength to go downstairs and take my punishment. It was then I realized I loved him. But I never got to tell him that. Before my father could even raise a hand at me, the little fool jumps down the stairs and shoves me aside, getting in front of me and shouting at my father. You can't imagine how stunned I was. My friend hadn't left me. He was a brave fool for standing up to my dad. He hadn't left me and he refused to give up on me."

"While he's drunk, his vision gets fuzzy. He lifted his beer bottle and swung at who he thought was me. I watched it happen. I watched my father try to kill me, only someone else took the hit for me. Someone else stood up for me, was there beside me when I needed it most. I watched as that person took the hit intended for me. There was so much blood. Glass shattering, my friend falling to the ground and my own heartbeat. I was shocked. I couldn't register anything."

"He stepped over my friend and that's when I lost my eye. But this time, I couldn't just sit down and let it happen. I couldn't, not when my friend stood up for me. I felt the need to stand up for myself. Not just for myself, for him, Obito. That day, I lost my eye. I lost my friend. I lost my home. But I got my freedom. I escaped that darkness. It was all because of him. And I never got to tell him that."

The guidance counselor stood up and walked over to Gaara, kneeling until he was eye to eye with him. "You don't know what you've got until it's gone. Cherish what you have, while you have it."

Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto Uzumaki. The name woke something in him. Sadness.

He had a friend. A friend besides Shukaku. A friend close to his heart, his soul, closer than any human had ever gotten.

But he was still, only one half of a whole. He was still broken inside.

**And now because I feel like a sappy cheeseball, here are some appropriate quotes. Perfectly applicable for this story:**

**The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they're still alive.**  
><strong>- O.A. Battista <strong>

**The way to find out if you love someone or not, is by talking to them. The more you talk to them the more you either hate them or love them.**  
><strong>- Brad Breitenstein<strong>

**Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must forget the rules and play from your heart.**  
><strong>- Source Unknown<strong>

**Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.**  
><strong>- David Grayson<strong>

**Source: .com/quotes/love_quotes/**

**Is this going way too fast? I'm sorry if it is. I just can't take things slowly at all. It comes with being a shitty writer. That and writer's block. **


	34. What's Wrong With You?

Naruto flailed at Sasuke. "Easy small fry!"

It was his voice. That hated voice. "Fuck off, Suigetsu!" he screamed angrily. "And you, you asshole, let go of me! Don't touch me! Let go!" Sasuke did, but by now, Gaara was gone and the bell was ringing. "You asshole, I lost him," Naruto yelled angrily. He was worried. Where was the redhead? Where had he gone? What was he planning to do? So many questions crowded in his head and he wanted answers, but- "Uzumaki! Uchiha! Hozuki! Get to class!" a teacher yelled.

Suigetsu flipped Naruto the bird with a silly grin on his face, flicking his tongue out tauntingly. He laughed. "If we're lucky, the little faggot left the school."

"THAT'S IT!"

Naruto threw himself at the antagonist.

Suigetsu laughed and jumped back. Naruto fell to the ground and the boy started to laugh, but he only got to start it. His laughter was cut off as he fell to the ground. Why? Because Naruto had spun on the ground, kicking his legs out from under him. He got up and jumped on Suigetsu, straddling his waist and punching his face with enough force to break bones. Unfortunately, Suigetsu was made of sturdier stuff and he didn't cry or beg for mercy or even look pained at all, just angry and annoyed, which was an achievement, he guessed. Not much of one, but still an achievement.

Suigetsu was strong enough to roll, reverse their positions, but Naruto kicked and flailed like a worm or a fish on the hook. His wild limbs and thrashing body made him hard to pin down. Before things could get really down-and-dirty-street-fighting-style with every trick in the book available, teachers came to wrench them apart. And when the teachers failed, the police officers stationed in strategic places around the school.

They came rushing onto the scene and pried the two boys apart. It wasn't too hard to restrain Hozuki. The moment he and Naruto were seperated he became limp and grinning. But the blond? He was infuriated beyond belief. He was quite the opposite of the happy blond child who used to wander the halls. Now he was as fierce and crazed as an animal. He hated Suigetsu with all of his heart and spirit and hatred. It was a horrible feeling. Hatred. It was so horrible. It gnawed at his chest and made him feel so upset and violent. It was a horrible feeling and he couldn't escape it. The hatred felt like a part of him and he hated it.

Tsunade lectured him for a good fifty minutes about the fight and during this time, he tried to reign in his anger. Anger. Hatred. Sickening emotions. They made his gut hurt, made him feel oddly hollow inside. Not the kind of hunger for Ramen he always got. The kind of hunger that could only be sated by hurting someone else. The source of his hatred. The source to that little flame, burning a hole in his chest.

He wondered if this was how Gaara felt, in his rare moments of rage and complete violence. Did he feel this empty? Did he feel two dimensional?

Or maybe when he was angry, he felt he was truly living?

Naruto would understand if that was how he felt. Anger was a difficult emotion to understand. It could make you feel so powerful and determined and so _energized _and just plain _alive. _But after the initial burst of anger passed, you were left with a sick feeling in your gut. Naruto enjoyed his rare, furious moments, but after they were over, his gut knew he didn't like being angry. Sasuke didn't understand of course. He liked being angry all the time. Being angry made him feel secure, made him feel in control when really it should've been the opposite. What did Gaara feel? Did he feel secure when he was angry? Or did he feel like he was breaking out of his icy shell?

Ahh, the confusion. The thinking.

Naruto hated thinking. Too much thought is bad for you, he thought to himself, ignoring Jiraiya's girlfriend ranting in his ear.

Just doing by emotion. That his motto. It hadn't failed him yet.

"Two months of detention!"

Whatever. Hey, maybe he should report Gaara's punch. Maybe they'd get detention together.

"You're going to regret starting a fight-"

He was regretting it already, but not for starting the fight. Regret that he hadn't followed the redhead, hadn't been quicker. Who knows where he was or what he was doing?

"You can't keep fighting with people you don't agree with-"

Agree with? He wanted to fucking pound Suigetsu's face in.

"I know you probably felt it was justified, but sometimes you have to control your emotions for the greater good."

She was one to talk. Hypocrite.

Tsunade sighed. "You're dismissed," she sighed, knowing not a word she said had gotten into Naruto's head. "Stay out of trouble, okay, kid?" She let him stand up and turn to leave her office. He'd been thinking. Thinking hard while she was talking, but not about what she had been half-heartedly lecturing. He'd had a real thinking face, a face she'd never seen on Naruto before. A... complex, sophisticated face that she hadn't known he was capable of.

Naruto had missed all of fourth period and the only reason he went to fifth was in the hopes that he'd seen Gaara. No luck, but he hadn't really expected the redhead to be there. Gaara might not even be in the school. It tormented him, knowing Gaara might be somewhere, anywhere. Knowing that Gaara felt alone and wishing he was there to remind the redhead that he wasn't alone. Not this time. He wasn't alone this time, not if he, Naruto Uzumaki had anything to do with it.

But thinking the words didn't make them true. He looked. While he was supposed to be lifting weights or whatever, Naruto had snuck out of the weight room and literally checked every inch of the school he had access to. Nothing. Nada. No Gaara. No relief. Nothing. He missed his friend. He wanted his redhead friend so much it physically hurt. Made his chest ache with loneliness. He was surrounded by friends (minus Sasuke, who avoided his gaze and his presence the best he could) who worriedly asked him what was wrong, but he couldn't focus on them. All he could see was his redhead friend.

And then, halfway through Gym, a horrible though invaded his mind. He dropped the twenty pound weight on his own foot, but the pain barely registered.

Gaara wasn't on the streets was he? Had he left the building?

No, he couldn't have. The school wouldn't have allowed him, would it have? Someone would've stopped him... right?

Worry gnawed at his gut more so than hunger. A dark foreboding crossed his mind, the kind of foreboding, the chills, the bad vibes he'd gotten before he'd found Gaara lying on his bedroom floor in the darkness.

The bell rang and the blond stood up as quickly as possible. He got to the changing rooms in record time and changed before anyone else.

_I am going to find Gaara. He had to be in the goddamn building or on this goddamn campus and I'm going to find him! I've always managed before, so why not now? He may hide, but I'll find him!_

Naruto was ready to go on his Gaara-hunt, but he realized the redhead had probably skipped lunch. "I should get him some lunch," Naruto said out loud, scaring a nearby freshman. "He might eat." His heart beat a little faster as he remembered exactly _why _Gaara couldn't eat, but he forced himself to calm down. Losing his head and getting pissed may seem the most natural thing to do, but it was not the smartest thing to do.

Oh great, more thinking. He couldn't go making a habit of this. It screwed him up.

He stood on the lunch line, impatiently bouncing on the heels of his feet. He was thinking about just swiping an apple and running for it, when something caught his eye.

A face.

A face he would've recognized anywhere. A face he recognized out of hundreds of students every day, a face he immediately went to, a face he instantly trusted and knew. His best friend's.

His best friend, Sasuke Uchiha was sitting next to Suigetsu and a redhead girl whose name was... something with a C? Whatever.

The point was, he was sitting at a different table. He wasn't sitting at the reject table anymore, with his real friends.

He was sitting with Suigetsu, a guy Naruto hated and didn't trust, and a bunch of other boys, the kind of boys they had once labeled as "douche bags." The kinds he and Sasuke made fun of. The kind without any real depth or substance or anything besides sports and breathing. The kind of people Naruto had told himself he and his best friend would never join. But then, he should've known better than make a promise _for _Sasuke.

The raven liked to cross the lines. He liked to push the boundaries.

But how hard could he push the boundaries before they broke?

Naruto snatched an apple and left the cafeteria.

Tears stained his cheeks the moment he was out of hearing/seeing/ touching range of that cafeteria. His vision was blurry and he walked blindly, trying to hold them back, but failing miserably. Why was he such a baby? Was that why Sasuke had betrayed him? Because that's what it felt like. Betrayal. Lately, Sasuke had been acting so... different. Where was the Sasuke he knew? Was it Gaara's fault? Was it Sasuke's fault? Was it _his _fault? Had he pushed his friend away?

He hated thinking. Thinking was too much effort. But he couldn't let his emotions take over. If he did and let his emotions do the thinking for him, then he would sit down where he was and cry. Everything was just too complicated for him. He didn't like complicated things. He liked it simple. He liked things to make sense and be easy to understand and for everyone to be happy and for life to be fair and have no one getting hurt. And while he was thinking wishful thinking, why not add something impossible and stupid? Ramen growing on trees. And unicorns. And rainbows and money growing with the Ramen. And a happy Gaara.

Naruto smiled through his tears. Maybe that last one wasn't ridiculous enough.

His eyes were really blurry now. He couldn't see anything, just the colors of everything around him.

Blue. The lockers. White. The floor. Brown. Doors. White-golden. Sunlight, probably from window.

Red.

What the-?

Naruto had a brief second to ponder the sudden change in color before crashing into that very color and falling to the ground again that day.

Red.

Gaara.

* * *

><p>"Gaara? Man, are you okay?" Naruto asked anxiously. He kneeled and sat next to Gaara, who sat up and scooted to the nearest wall and leaned back, pulling his knees up to his chest almost protectively. Naruto faced him solemnly.<p>

The redhead looked at him, straight in the eye, no hesitation, directly into the blond's eyes. His green eyes were dull. But what freaked Naruto out was the emptiness. Not emotional walls. There were no walls.

It was as if... there really was nothingness.

Gaara wasn't masking himself with nothingness, he was nothingness.

"Gaara, snap out of it!" Naruto said, snapping his fingers before his redhead friend. "Gaara? You in there?"

The redhead sighed, but made no other respond. "Gaara? It's me, Naruto. Listen, I don't blame you for punching me earlier. No big deal. Sasuke does it all the time." He waited. No response. The redhead just stared at him with his dull eyes. Like he always had. Like he'd been doing all year. But with a difference. He wasn't hiding anything. Everything was in plain view for the world the see. And everything was nothing.

It scared Naruto and he didn't like it. It felt like his friend was dying, or giving up.

Neither was a good idea, but he worried that Gaara was too far gone in one of those directions.

Said redhead looked down at his lap.

"What happened to you? What's wrong with you?"

That last question sounded mean, but Gaara knew what he meant.

He knew what Naruto meant.

That didn't mean he'd answer.

The blond scooted closer.

"I know something's wrong. Where were you all day?"

"Kakashi," Gaara muttered.

"Another counseling session?" Gaara let Naruto answer that one himself.

"What... did you talk about?"

"Naruto."

"What?"

"We're friends, aren't we?" Gaara paused and looked at Naruto. The blond stared at him, frowning, more serious looking than Gaara had ever seen him. That look made his chest tight until he found himself holding his breath. His friend stared at him. A broad smile widened on his face. "It took you this long to figure it out, did you?" he asked joyfully. "Are you finally acknowledging me as a friend in words rather than enigmatic and cryptic observational messages? Oh yes, this is progress! Believe it!"

Gaara wanted to punch him for setting him up like that. Looking so grim, only to smile and say something like-

Naruto scooted closer until they were pressed side by side.

"We're friends, man. Friends forever whether you like it or not! Believe it!"

Gaara could believe it. He could believe Naruto and he could be friends forever.

"Are you sure?" Gaara asked. It actually wasn't a matter of Naruto being sure. It was a matter of he, himself, being sure. Sure that Naruto would be there. To be able to have absolute confidence in the blond.

"I've been sure all year. You really just figured that out? And they call me dumb."

Gaara should've given Naruto the absolute confidence in the beginning. He should've. He should've.

Naruto leaned closer, putting his spiky blond hair on Gaara's neck.

"I'm not dumb," Gaara whispered in his ear. Naruto shuddered slightly as breath ghosted over his ear and he turned to face Gaara with a grin o n his face.

"I never said you were, did I? But yeah, you can be really du-"

Naruto found his words muffled as Gaara pressed his lips to his.

* * *

><p><strong>Yaoi moment. Uh, I'll update soon. And there will be some yaoi action. Warning: I suck at writing romance and intimacy of any kind. <strong>

**Oh and I (obviously) write mostly angst, so any romance will be tied in with heavy angst and horribly depressing stuff. **

**So yeah. **


	35. What Yaoi Fans Were Waiting For

**Yaoi haters: Skip a few paragraphs, but warning, if you do, you're going to miss my poor attempt at writing intimacy. **

**Yaoi lovers: Here's what you've been waiting for. Sorry if this disappoints. **

Naruto's first thought was shock.

And so was Gaara's. What had just come over him? What had prompted such an action? His thoughts began to spin wildly out of control and he pulled his face back abruptly. Naruto stared at him, mouth slightly ajar. "You-" Gaara wanted to say he looked stupid, try and break the awkwardness, but his words were blocked as the blond leaned forward and kissed him back. But his lips didn't just ghost over the other's. He was going to kiss his friend. The right way. Gaara gasped and Naruto took this oppurtunity to push his tongue in.

Naruto was hesitant at first. Tentative. He'd never kissed anyone and it was strange and awkward at first. But he did what Narutos do. He let his emotions cloud his thoughts and let his body take over. And after that, it became natural. Magical. Gaara had never been kissed before and he never thought he ever would've been either. This feeling was amazing. Naruto was tender, gently tugging on Gaara's lip, his tongue exploring the hot wet cavern of Gaara's mouth.

This shouldn't feel so natural. It should feel wrong. Two guys kissing each other wasn't natural. It was wrong.

But why did it feel so fucking right?

His whole body was tingling and Gaara found his mind falling in the gutter as his heart beat faster. He pressed himself closer to his blond friend and deepened their kiss. Naruto's arms curled around Gaara's waist and pulled him even closer. The redhead groaned, wrapping one hand around Naruto's back, the other around his friend's neck. Blood was rushing through his ears and he found everything falling away. The physical world was nothing. All that mattered now was Naruto. His skin touching Naruto's. Fire, warm passionate warmth racing over his skin, in his blood. This was feeling alive. This was truly enjoying his existence. He felt... whole. He didn't feel like the broken half of a person anymore.

Gaara moaned into their kiss and the vibrations drove the blond crazy. Naruto's arms gripped tighter around his waist. The redhead ran his fingers through Naruto's silky hair and pulled away. He needed air and apparently, Naruto needed air as well. They both gasped, arms still around each other, skin still tingling warmly. "I hate breathing," Naruto gasped. "That's a stupid thing to say," Gaara panted. "Then let's stop talking," Naruto said. He pulled Gaara into his lap and the redhead's grip on his hair tightened impreceptibly. The other hand let go of Naruto's back and crept to his chest, gripping his shirt.

They kissed again. And the second time was just as magical, even more magical and amazing.

Nothing magical and wonderful like your first kiss every lasts long. At least, never as long as you want it to.

The lunch bell rang and the sound of students and stomping feet filled the halls. Naruto let go of him and pushed him away. Hurt flashed across Gaara's eyes, but only briefly. He understood.

"Stupid people," Naruto said. "I don't feel like going to my next class. Let's skip, okay?" He grinned lopsidedly, his hair ruffled and his face flushed with pleasure. Gaara nodded. But he realized something. His own body was on fire. He felt real. He felt alive now. In Naruto's kiss, there had been lust and compassion. There had been love in that kiss. Suddenly Naruto meant more to him than anyone or anything on this planet. Even Shukaku.

He wanted to kiss him again.

He wanted to taste, to feel that love again. It was something he never experienced. And he found he wanted more of it. Even if that made him selfish and greedy.

Inside his office, Kakashi cursed. Damn that school bell. Just when things were getting hot and heavy between Naruto and Gaara. He shook his head with a sigh. Seeing a patient of his having a make out session when he was usually so gloomy and down in the dumps was satisfying. Not to mention hot to watch in the reflection of the trophy case just opposite the two as they had their make out session.

Who could've ever guessed Gaara was gay?

"Come on!" Naruto giggled. He and Gaara held hands, the blond ignoring the weird looks he got from people and the redhead not really giving a shit. He tugged the redhead along as the bell rang. "Quick! Quick or we'll get caught," he yelled excitedly to an amused redhead. He saw the nearest closet and seized the door handle and pushing Gaara in first. The redhead cursed as he tripped over a mop. Naruto glanced down the hallway. No teachers? Good. He backed up and shut the door.

And the blond idiot found the closet completely and absolutely pitch dark.

He put an arm out.

Took a hesitant step.

And tripped over the same mop.

He fell on Gaara.

"Ow," Gaara groaned, at first only registering the pain. Then registering Naruto's hands on his hips. And the blond's head on his chest.

Naruto got off him. "Uh, sorry?"

Gaara squinted through the darkness. He got off his elbows and sat up, his legs spread out in front of him.

"You know what? I'm tired of making mistakes. I'm going to do something right! Believe it!" Gaara felt Naruto's hands on his chest, pushing him back against the floor again and straddling his friend. Such a vulnerable position made Gaara nervous. But then, he reminded himself, this is Naruto. Naruto wouldn't hurt him. He would never make him do anything uncomfortable. And right now, this felt oddly comfortable. The blond leaned down. His mouth brushed against Gaara's ear, making the redhead shiver.

"You know we have an hour, right?"

And Gaara could only smile.

**Tell me how awful this is. I am truly an awful romance writer. This is my first attempt at it. So tell me what you think. **


	36. Pain of Loss, Joy of Love

If there was any doubt before, than there was none now: Naruto Uzumaki was gay.

And surprisingly, so was Gaara Sabaku.

How did these rumors spread?

Well they were helped along by Suigetsu Hozuki who liked to boast that he had been right all along and had known it all along.

But mostly, it was because everyone had seen.

At the end of the day on Tuesday, Gaara and Naruto had been seen stumbling out of a closet together.

Out of a closet, oh the irony.

It should be noted that Naruto looked as happy as ever, ecstatic and he couldn't stop smiling broadly.

It should also be noted that Gaara looked dazed and stunned and when he was done packing, all he could do was lean against his locker staring at his knees.

But of course, teenagers liked the spread gossip and rumos, not actually investigate or care about other people. They cared more for the drama. If Naruto Uzumaki had kissed Gaara Sabaku in the janitor's closet, than it was dramatic to them, positively or negatively depending on the person, never mind the emotion and feelings behind the event. It wasn't their business and it wasn't like any of them really cared.

Gaara couldn't move for a few seconds. He loved Naruto Uzumaki. There was no way to describe how he was feeling right now. He felt so warm inside at the thought of seeing Naruto's face, so good, so happy. But Gaara, being Gaara, couldn't believe it would last. How could he be in love with the blond? It seemed so sudden and now, without Naruto to confirm said feelings, he wondered if it was only lust. That seemed more probable. But didn't they say love wasn't probable or predictable or easy to define? No, he wasn't in love, he couldn't be. It was too quick, he told himself sternly. _No way can anyone fall in love instantly like that. _

_But it hadn't been instant, had it, Gaara? Hasn't he been trying all year? _

Gaara pressed his fingers to his temple. Amazing. He was confused, but he was happy. Truly happy.

Happy without Shukaku.

The words brought a pit back to his stomach.

Shukaku. How could he have forgotten about him so quickly? _I thought I meant more to you, _he could almost hear Shukaku saying.

He knew he would never hear Shukaku speak again and the thought bit his heart. Now that he was away from Naruto, however briefly, he felt that icy nothingness, that incomplete, emptiness creeping back. He wanted so desperately to live, to hold on to this happy feeling, but his mind, his body wouldn't let him. Why? Why couldn't he ever have happiness? Happiness that lasted? They said money can't buy real, everlasting happiness, but what on earth could buy happiness? How did Naruto do it? He always seemed happy.

"Hey, Gaara."

Gaara looked up as a pair of familiar knees appeared in his line of vision. Bright blond hair blinded his closet-darkened eyes for a moment and he blinked owlishly. "Remember me?" Naruto laughed. Gaara smiled. Wow, it was hard getting used to that. Smiling was something he never did normally and before, if he tried to smile, it would be forced and painful looking. But now, it came surprisingly easy. "You ready to go home?" Naruto asked, sounding slightly suggestive as he offered Gaara a hand.

Immediately, that warmth flood back. And he basked in it.

But in the corner of his mind, he kept that chill. To him, the cold and darkness made sense, was comfortable, felt more real than this warmth.

In the corner of his mind, his pessimistic was sure this warmth could only be temporary.

But the rest of his mind was going to enjoy every step of the ride he was going to get. Every second he had with the warmth, with Naruto, he was going to enjoy before it all ended. The corner of his mind reminded him that when it ended, it would end painfully and abruptly. It was going to hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced, to balance out the happiest thing he'd ever experienced. But Gaara accepted this. All good things came to an end. He knew it.

But... love what you've got while you've got it. That was the phrase wasn't it?

Before then, Gaara had always been confused when hearing things like that. What was the point in loving if it was going to leave you eventually? What could be worth that pain of loss?

The answer was right in front of him. He'd just never seen it because he'd never understood or experienced it.

The pain of loss was equal to the joy of love. That was what caused the heartbreak. The love you felt, and the feeling when that love was gone combined was enough to break hearts.

Gaara smiled at Naruto as they walked home. He was going to enjoy every step he took until the moment it ended.

**Am working on the next update right now, so hang on. **

**Special Thanks to Sukaretto Miyuki, DarkAngelJudas, CeruleanRipTide, Rinaty, Battenburg507, Mantinas, nerdboy316, Bitches Love Reno, HeartsNaruto and others for being so nice and awesome about my attempts at yaoi. Hopefully completely truthful as well. **

**Thanks to anonymous reviewers and anyone who read my attempt at yaoi without banging your head against your computers in disappointment. **


	37. Whatever Naruto's Doing, It's Working

_"So Gaara-" Kakashi let his name hang in the air. _

_It was Wednesday afternoon. Gaara really didn't want to be here. Did he ever? _

_He was going to skip this session, but Naruto was waiting on the school steps, guarding the exit and making sure he stayed for the counselor session. _

Meddling blond, _Gaara thought. _

_"You and Naruto, ahh-" _

_"Who told you?" the redhead asked. _

_"First thing, rumors spread fast. Like really fast. Second, you two weren't exactly subtle. Third, well I saw you two in the hallway and, uh-" _

_"You're a pervert." _

* * *

><p>"I don't know why people are so uptight," Naruto complained on Thursday.<p>

Gaara glanced at him, glad to be looking at anything besides the meal placed before him. That tantalizing, yet sickening food odor was drifiting into his nose and he wanted to eat, but his stomach was too tight. He was hungry, but he knew it would just come back up again. The blond was trying to relax him by chattering and it wasn't working. "I mean, seriously being gay isn't that big a deal. I joked about it all the time before! I never thought I was gay, though, 'cause I had a crush on Sakura. But finding out I was isn't a big deal! Believe it!"

Gaara wasn't surprised that Naruto wasn't surprised about his sexuality. The kid didn't seem like the type to care what others thought of him. But still, he was a little curious.

"Why isn't it a big deal?" he asked.

"Gay's just... the way you are," Naruto said. "If people have a problem, why should we change?"

"That's not what I meant. You didn't seem... upset or alarmed. Even someone who doesn't have a problem with homosexuality would be alarmed if they discovered they were gay. It's true you don't care about the opinion of others, but don't you care that you learned something different about yourself?" Naruto frowned as the thought crossed his mind for the first time. Why wasn't he more alarmed? He'd been so defensive and quick to yell at other people if they teased him, but why wasn't he affected?

"Because it's you, Gaara," Naruto said, grinning widely. "You're my friend and as freaky as it is and queer," here he started to giggle at his unintentional pun. Gaara would've been irritated if the blond didn't do this all the time. "I think just knowing it's you makes me feel comfortable about it. I guess you could say I'm gay for you," Naruto giggled, then began to laugh wildly out of control, making his last few words almost indiscernible from his laugh. Gaara stared at him with amusement. How had he found a person like Naruto? He was truly one out of millions.

"Well what about you? Why weren't you scared at first, then huh?"

Now that was an uncomfortable question. It was definitely not something he wanted to talk about because the answer was confusing to him. Affection of any kind wasn't something he was used to. It was an alien emotion to him. It was comfortable, in a way he'd never experienced. Compassion and caring and love were shocking emotions to him. Gender was the least shocking thing about it. Insignificant. Love in any form was still love. And he, like Naruto, didn't give a shit about public appearance.

When Gaara didn't answer, Naruto assumed it was uncomfortable for the redhead. He wanted Gaara to eat and making him uncomfortable was not the trick.

"Okay, new subject. What do you think of-" Naruto stopped.

Much to his and Gaara's surprise.

The redhead because he hadn't expected Naruto to shut up without him telling the blond to. Not that he really wanted Naruto to stop talking. It was oddly comforting, his voice.

And the blond because he usually blurted out whatever was on his mind. This time, he couldn't think of anything. Okay, scratch that, he could think of things to talk about, but were they the right things? His mission wasn't to make Gaara uncomfortable. His mission was the opposite.

Gaara glanced at Naruto. He sniffed the air. And plugged his nose as the smell of food drifted into his nostrils. The tantalizing smell was torturous.

The blond noticed this and scooted his chair closer to Gaara's. "Gaara, you have to eat something," he urged. "You're hungry, aren't you?"

Gaara nodded and breathed through his mouth. Then released his nose as he realized the smell was strong enough to taste in his mouth, which was worse.

"Just... talk," the redhead said.

"Just talk?" Naruto asked with some bemusement. "About... whatever?" Gaara nodded.

He took a deep breath, the moment of silence before the rapid spit fire talking began.

"So I was snooping around Jiraiya's room once and I saw this unfinished manuscript for his book and I was really curious, so I read it and you won't believe the weird, perverted stuff I read seriously! The old man is so dirty, I wonder if that's how his mind looks from the inside? Actually, no, I don't want to think about it or I'll puke! So I read his stuff and I thought of a great prank. I found this goofy kid book full of short rhyming storiees and wrote it down, then sent that in instead! Boy, his perverted publishers weren't expecting that! Man, you should've seen how angry Jiraiya was! Actually, it's good that you haven't 'cause-"

Gaara blocked out his words, letting them fade in a monotonous buzzing hum in the background.

His voice was all that mattered. He focused on that instead of the pointless story. A warm tingle ran through his chest and down to his stomach. He felt the tense muscles relax and his breathing became easier. He sighed in relief. And then Naruto cheered as Gaara began to eat. Slowly at first, then quicker as his stomach remembered the last meal it had had. And how long the wait for the next meal might be.

"Success!" Naruto yelled, punching a fist in the air. "Yeah, I am good!"

Gaara finished off his dinner and cleaned the dish off in the sink. In the sink, he could see all of Naruto's dirty dishes and knew Jiraiya would appreciate him doing what Naruto never did. Then, out of habit, he began to clean the dishes, suddenly needing to stand up and do something with his hands, keep his mind on something simple. "You're trying to make me look bad, aren't you?" Naruto grumbled. "Jerk." But he was smiling and soon he was standing and beside Gaara, trying to help. But it was obvious he'd never cleaned a dish before and he was more of a hindrance than help. Still, it was nice to have Naruto at his side, even if it did take longer than it would've if he'd been alone.

"That's it?" Naruto asked disappointedly when they were done and sitting at the table again. Naruto was watching Gaara spread his homework across the table.

"That's all you're going to eat?" "

"Sorry," Gaara apologized.

"No, buddy, don't be sorry, it's not your fault," Naruto said hastily, putting an arm around his friend's shoulder.

For once, Gaara didn't flinch. A spark of pain spiked through his bad shoulder and his muscles tensed ever so slightly, but he didn't flinch.

And Naruto saw this as progress too. He grinned and leaned close to Gaara. The redhead knew what he wanted and mimicked the movement. Their lips touched gently.

Before they could kiss properly, they were interrupted.

"Hey kids, what's up-?" Jiraiya's words suddenly trailed off.

As soon as he spoke, the two jerked away from each other, the blond so violently he fell from the chair. Gaara went back to look at his homework papers, a blush coloring his cheeks. Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up as he took in Gaara's light red skin and Naruto on the ground, a heavy blush on his cheeks. He was grinning his Naruto grin, that mischevious, happy grin. The kind that meant he was hiding something, up to no good. But was Gaara in on it too? Why were they both blushing? And why had they been so close when he'd come in? Their chairs were really close...

A small grin formed on his mouth.

Well this was certainly a surprise. He would have to tell Tsunade-

Oh wait. He couldn't tell her. She was going to visit her brother tonight, who's friend had recently died, and she was going to comfort him and go to his friend's funeral. She'd grumbled at first, saying she barely knew the guy and it would be kind of uncomfortable, but her brother had seemed so upset she felt it was her duty as the older sister. She wouldn't be back for a few days. Not until the end of the week, maybe next monday. While she was gone, he was stepping in. He'd protested completely, saying he hadn't been a teacher since Naruto was three and there was a reason he'd quit to become a writer of perverted books, but she refused to let Danzo take over for her, so she forced him to do it.

To the protests of many members of the School Board. But hey, it was only today and tomorrow. He could hold the school together for a couple of days right?

"Of course, you can, old man! Yay, my godfather's principal!" Jiraiya blinked out of his daydream. "Was I thinking out loud?" he asked.

Gaara nodded.

"And now Naruto's on a roll?"

Nod.

Jiraiya sighed.

Gaara hid his smirk. He imagined Naruto's babbling could get to anyone who couldn't look under the chatter, look passed the clutter and hazy gray fog, see the depth underneath.

Naruto tripped on the rumpled rug and fell face down on the carpet. Gaara chuckled. You had to look really deep, so it was no surprise no one could see through that stupidity cloud Naruto permanently shrouded his mind in. That was the only thing about him that was cloudy, though, besides his brain. The rest of him was pure sunshine. Jiraiya roared with laughter at Naruto's pain and the blond spat something angry at him. They began to banter, but neither of them had missed Gaara's first chuckle.

Whatever they were doing, pressed so close together all alone, skin touching if his eyes could be believed, it was working, Jiraiya thought, grinning.


	38. A Living Nightmare: Falling Asleep Again

Gaara could feel it. Apprehension. Curling in the pit of his chest. Tightly wound into a ball. A coil, like a snake, icy cold and stiff.

Not even Naruto could thaw that icy feeling. He knew what was coming. He knew it. And as much as he wished he could suppress this apprehension, make his days with Naruto happy and carefree, he couldn't. He knew where he was going. And he had a bad feeling that he might never see Naruto again. _That's stupid_, he thought. _Naruto would never leave me. But then,_ that nagging voice in his head, _what about you leaving _him?

_What? _

_Your father isn't going to be easy on you. You think he'll take kindly to knowing his punching bag was at someone else's house for a week? No, he'll be pissed. Mad as hell. You'll be lucky to get out alive. _

It was a voice. Gaara desperately wanted it to be Shukaku's. He missed Shukaku. The emptiness in his mind was horrible.

Thankfully, he didn't feel to empty. He had Naruto.

The blond wasn't the least bit afraid of people's opinion. He was quite willing to kiss Gaara in public and grab his hand with people watching. The redhead didn't particularly care for the opinions of others, so embracing in public didn't bother him. It did bother Naruto's friends, though. Even the friends Naruto had known as long as he'd had his teeth were now uncomfortable around him. They acted strangely and seemed kind of uneasy around him, now. Even people like Shikamaru and Neji, who Gaara had thought were the most open minded, seemed kind of uncomfortable.

Most people decided that verbally abusing the two wasn't effective. Naruto would just yell at them angrily and Gaara would just stand there. They shunned him instead. Poor Naruto wasn't used to being shunned. He could take and dish verbal punishment, but what to say when no one would speak to you? There was nothing he could do about those mean, hard glares of people who couldn't accept someone who was different than they were. Someone who wasn't like them, someone they couldn't or wouldn't understand.

It hurt.

But Naruto found he wasn't alone. Not completely. He had Gaara, fellow shunned social outcast. And he found the redhead was enough, even more so than he needed.

"Why are people so stupid?" Naruto sighed. He poked at his lunch on his tray and was displeased to hear silence. It meant Gaara wasn't eating today and he'd been hoping the redhead would eat lunch for once. So far, he'd only eaten at Naruto's house, not at school. He avoided the cafeteria like the plague. Then again, with the amount of homophobes in the room, maybe it was worse than the plague. Maybe more like a mob or a bomb waiting for that spark to set it off.

What Gaara didn't tell his friend, was that the reason he couldn't eat was because he couldn't relax and it was because of that anxious coil in his chest.

"I mean, seriously, what's the big idea? You can act like a complete doofus idiot weirdo and be popular- popular enough, stop smirking, I know you're smirking, Gaara. What was I saying? Oh yeah. You can be a weirdo idiot with many odd quirks and people admire you for being brave enough to show them, but tell everyone you're gay and you're instantly the Devil. Seriously, I heard you go to hell if you're gay."

"And Christian," Gaara murmured.

"Don't be racist-"

"It's not racism if it's true."

"I don't know about that one-"

"What else is old?"

Naruto grinned. He groped through the darkness and felt Gaara's cold skin in his hands, felt the contours of his cheeks and chin. "You're so annoying," he said. "Took the words out of my mouth," Gaara whispered. Naruto pulled Gaara into a kiss, his hands gently tugging on his red hair. "Stop talking," Naruto said when they'd pulled apart. "Never thought I'd hear you of all people saying that," Gaara gasped, trying to breath properly to make up for the lack of air.

Naruto left the closet with a smile on his face.

Gaara left the closet with a small grin on his lips, but a knot in his chest that grew heavier each step he took. It was close to the end of the day. He'd have to go home by the end of the day. He knew he'd be alone again. He knew he was going back to the darkness.

With a flicker of light to hold close to his heart as he experienced that swallowing darkness again.

With his memories and new emotions. Things he'd never experienced before. _Maybe I'll experience them again. But I'll never be that safe again. I won't wake up with Naruto next to me on the ground, leaning on me. I won't wake up beside Naruto anymore and I'll never feel that safe again. Will we have moments like that ever again? Will I be the same once I've retreated back to the darkness? Am I really alive or is what I am now just a shell of a person? A shell that will be crushed soon, this very afternoon? _

Naruto noticed Gaara's anxiety, but he didn't know what it was about.

"Are you okay, man?"

Gaara nodded, trying not to bite his lip, a sure sign of anxiety. "Fine," he muttered, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

He glanced at the redhead and grabbed his hand, grasping the pale white fingers with his own tanned hand. "What's up?" he frowned. Why so tense? Naruto wracked his brain. "Is it that Science test? It's no big deal. It's like only forty-two percent of the grade." "Didn't you fail Math class?" Gaara asked. "Yeah, why?" "No reason, just curious," the redhead said. For some reason, Naruto felt like he'd been insulted, but he didn't know how, so said nothing.

But still, light hearted banter with Naruto didn't feel as light hearted as it had before.

This week had been the best in his life. His days hadn't been perfect, but he'd had absolutely perfect moments with Naruto.

Moments he was going to take with him to the grave. Moments he would remember forever as the first time his life didn't seem like a living nightmare.

**I know this chapter is bad. It's 'cause I can't get my angst on. In my defense, I'm half asleep right now, so I'm not sure what I'm babbling. **

**Oh, and Christians, don't be offended about the gay stuff and all. Wait, do Christians read yaoi if they think gays go to hell? **

**Well, no offense intended. Offense taken is something different entirely. **


	39. Intense Arguments: Fallout?

**This chapter is intense. I'm sure there are a lot of grammar mistakes. I got kind of wound up in the writing of the chapter and began to type like a maniac, so I'm sure I slipped up somewhere. I got so into it, I kind of lost it a little. **

**And on to the chapter.**

* * *

><p>Gaara entered Naruto's house feeling worse.<p>

Soon, he'd be alone. And this time, truly alone, without Shukaku and Naruto. He wondered if he could bear it. He wondered if he could retreat back into the comforting darkness. If he didn't, his suffering would be worse. That darkness might be a cage, but it had protected him. It might have been miserable, but it wasn't hellish, like living in the real world with his father was. It might have been cold, but so was he. No, he wasn't cold anymore. He was warm. Because of Naruto. And now, he wasn't sure if he could become cold again.

Be strong again.

Without Shukaku, he had no anger. Without anger, he had no strength or motivation to live. He had nothing.

"So what's for a snack?" Naruto babbled. "We've got loads of fruits. We've got bananas and melon and oranges and pears and apples and carrots! Once, I put an apple in a box and buried it, then dug it up later and you should've seen it, it was so disgusting, I wonder if that's how corpses feel? Like all smooshy and squishy and rotting and gross, you know, I want to be cremated, sounds less creepy. Oh, you want to see it, I have a photo, I can get it for you, wait here!" The blond scampered upstairs and the redhead watched, wishing he had that kind of energy.

Limbs slightly shaky, he gathered his things and stuffed them into his school bag with a ball in his throat. He dumped his bag under the table, not wanting Naruto to see that he was going to have to leave. The blond would only make a scene and make him feel worse than he already was. Gaara was consumed with guilt and worry. He didn't need someone else worrying about him, or crying for him. He had a feeling Naruto would cry if he knew. And seeing Naruto cry would make him want to kill himself. More so than now.

"See Gaara?"

The redhead straightened up in his chair. Naruto shoved a photo in his face. It was a blurry image of a brownish-green thing that didn't resemble an apple at all. In fact, Gaara wouldn't have known it was an apple at all if he hadn't known beforehand. "Would you believe me if I said I still have it?" the blond asked with a mischevious grin on his face. "If I did, I'd puke," Gaara said. "You would if you ate it. I ate it on a dare and I was really sick for a long time," Naruto chuckled. "Sasuke couldn't-" his face went dark as he remembered his traitorous friend, who still refused to talk or even look at him.

Gaara tentatively patted his back, then tightened his grip around his shoulder, givng Naruto a one armed hug.

_He's so warm. _

Naruto smiled. "He's an asshole, believe it!"

"Don't I know it?"

Naruto giggled. "Even I know it and I'm not usually the person who knows anything," he said, insulting his own intelligence. "Jackass. He's such a jackass."

Gaara glanced at the blond. He knew that Sasuke was to Naruto what Naruto was to him. Oh, wait, that's kind of confusing. In other words:

When he was with Naruto, he knew that he was a different person. He knew that without Naruto, he was darkness, but with Naruto, he had a glow to him. A glow similiar to the glow Naruto had whenever he was around Sasuke. It was the same glow, the same feeling, the same happiness. But lately, Sasuke was dark. Just darkness. He may seem like he was before. Sardonic and sarcastic and mean. But he was different. Gaara couldn't quite place it. The only way he could describe it, was that Sasuke lacked his former glow.

At that moment, Gaara felt sympathy towards the raven. He was going in a direction, on a path that would lead him to where he himself had been. That dark, lonely place. And for a moment, Gaara wished he could help. But at that moment, Sasuke was not what he had to worry about. He would have to worry about himself for now.

"Naruto-" the blond kissed him, muffling his words, then cutting them off completely. Gaara returned the kiss gently, savoring the feeling of affection and love and Naruto. He wondered if Sasuke was gay. He wondered if Sasuke had feelings for Naruto, but hid them, afraid of others' opinions more than his own. Gaara doubted Sasuke knew what he was missing, it that was the case. Either way, if that was the case or not, Sasuke was an idiot. For pushing someone as special as Naruto away or for hiding something that shouldn't be hidden.

Surprisingly, Naruto ended the kiss first. He grinned, blushing madly with that stupid grin on his face. "You're way better than Sasuke." But Gaara wondered if that was true. What was it about him that appealed to Naruto? He wasn't nice, he wasn't smart of funny, he didn't talk much, he wasn't physically attracting, and he had a lot of problems. So what was it that appealed to Naruto? Did he enjoy the company of people with issues? Was it pity? What was it?

Yet another thing about Naruto he didn't understand.

Naruto petted Gaara's hair. "Listen, since it's Friday, I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie? I have a load of movies-"

_Not in that cesspit you call a room, I hope. _

"-I have like every genre, seriously, comedy and action and stuff! We could watch a gory movie or a scary movie-"

Gaara had to fight the urge to dry heave as his chest tightened unbearably. It was getting close. He would have to leave soon. The longer he stayed, the longer he wanted to stay. Any form of safety had died, faded completed, until he felt as helpless and hopeless as the day he'd first come to Naruto's house. He felt a tug in his chest, an irrational desire to go home, get his pain over with, retreat to the nothingness.

"Even tragedy, like Titanic-"

The redhead closed his eyes and breathed deeply. No use. His chest still felt horribly tight.

"Naw, that's too sad, let's just go." Naruto grasped his hand and pulled him up the stairs. Gaara smiled at his antics, but it was a bitter smile. He had to leave soon. Soon. The thought pressed against his head, his chest, his heart. Everything felt tight. Wound up tightly. He felt paralyzed, only numbly able to follow Naruto to his room. He had to leave now. But, he didn't want to sneak away. He couldn't just leave Naruto without a word, without a whisper. He couldn't. Naruto meant too much to him."Naruto-" the blond paused, sensing something wrong finally. He turned to Gaara. "Yeah, buddy?"

Gaara hugged him, pressing his face against Naruto's neck and closing his eyes. This was what he wanted to remember. Remember until he died.

"I have to go home," he murmured into Naruto's ear. "Now."

* * *

><p>Naruto backed away from him. "What?" he whispered in complete shock. "You know I do," Gaara whispered sadly. "You knew this was coming." It was true. The blond had known Gaara would have to go home sooner or later. But damnit, he hadn't planned on letting Gaara go back. Jiraiya and Tsunade, he'd expected them to be here when the time came. But when he needed them, they were gone. He couldn't let Gaara go back. He just couldn't. But what could he do? What would he do? He'd seen Gaara's punches. He couldn't physically overcome the redhead. But Naruto couldn't let him go. He couldn't. He wouldn't.<p>

"You can't go home. Stay here. Stay here with me, please, Gaara," Naruto begged.

"I can't." Now Gaara wished he'd snuck away. But it didn't seem right to sneak away without a goodbye. Naruto might do something stupid, like follow him. This was his oppurtunity to make sure the blond didn't. This was his oppurtunity to say goodbye, properly. "I have to. You know it." Gaara felt Naruto's arms around him, embracing him in return. "I won't let you," Naruto mumbled. "I won't let you do this to yourself." "You have to," Gaara whispered. "I have to leave."

"Why would you leave me? Don't you care about me at all?" Naruto could feel tears welling up as the redhead pulled away from his hug. "Gaara! Stop! Don't leave me! Please!"

The redhead turned from him.

"Gaara! Don't you care about me? Don't you care about yourself? Gaara! Gaara, wait!" the blond followed him down the stairs. "Gaara, you're so selfish! You're so selfish! You can't think about anyone besides yourself! Did you ever care about anyone? About me? Stay, Gaara! Please stay! You can't leave me!" The redhead kept walking, reaching under the table for his bag. Naruto was filled with despair. He couldn't let Gaara go, not so easily, he couldn't. Not back to the darkness. Not back to that monster. No, he couldn't. He would never forgive himself.

Naruto lunged forward and tackled Gaara. He slammed the redhead's scrawny body against the wall and leaned against him with all of his strength, pinning him effectively for a moment. Now they were face to face. "You can't leave me. Not after everything I did for you. You can't leave me, you know why? Because I never left you! I'll never leave you alone! I promised myself that day I found you in your room that you'd never be alone again! Not as long as I'm alive! I'll never leave you and you can't leave me. I won't let you do this to yourself, you hear?"

"Why? Why would you care about me so much? What have I ever done for you?" Gaara gasped. "Why do you care? What am I to you? You pity me. You like to collect friends, but what am I really to you? A project? Why are you lying to me? When you're bored of me, you'll leave. And I don't care! Do you want to know why? Because it would be human! I'm nothing, I'm no one, I don't deserve your pity or your effort! I don't want your help! I don't want you to waste your time on something like me! You and I are so different. You are so real and so pure and I'm- I-" he closed his eyes.

"You're not nothing!"

"I am. You're an idiot and an optimist! You can see me, but you can't see the real me, hidden inside. You can't see the darkness and you'll never see it. I am two people, Naruto, two halves of a whole and I am broken-"

"But I lo-"

"You love the ghost of me! You love something that isn't really there! I am a broken person and you can't fix me, not properly and permanently. I am damaged, Naruto. You deserve something better."

"I don't want anything better! There is nothing better!"

"You're an idiot, you couldn't understand-"

"Than stop trying to make me understand! You're not nothing! You're not-"

"I am! I know! I hear voices, Naruto. One moment, I hate the world, the next moment I want to die, to never have existed in the first place. I am two halves of a whole. But one half is gone and without it, I can't live. I am a shadow of a person. Trust me, I've tried to become whole again. To feel like I am whole again, a real person, a human being, but I can't. I can't and I don't want you to try! I want you to leave me alone!"

"That's not what you want and you know it! And even if it is what you want, you know I don't give a rat's ass!"

"Let go of me!"

"Not if you're going to leave!"

Gaara struggled, but the blond held firm. "You'd never understand!"

"No! Because you're not making sense! I see a person, not a thing. You're my friend and I don't care if you hear voices or a personality disorder or whatever. I don't care about complications," Naruto spat. "Well I do. I don't want to burden you! I don't want to burden anyone! I'm tired of being useless baggage and I'm tired of living in nothingness," Gaara could feel his eyes stinging. Oh shit, was he crying? Fuck. "You aren't a burden. You're the only one in our school who isn't shunning me! I got through the last couple of days because of you!"

"You got through the last couple days because you're you. Not me."

"And you think I'm an idiot. Can't you hear yourself? I-"

"Let me go! I'm worthless, I'm trash. You deserve someone whole. I don't. I deserve to die alone! I'm not worth pity or love or-"

"Shut up! Who are you to say if you're worthy or not? I think you are and that should be enough!"

"If anyone decides how worthy I am, it's me. Naruto, you of all people should understand that. You've always felt you're better than other people, quirks or not quirks. And I feel empty inside, worthless inside and out, so that makes it true," Gaara said, defeated, his vision blurring slightly as tears stung his eyes. He closed his eyes and they fell, staining his cheeks. "No! That's what your father told you! That's not what you think, you have to know it! You have to know you-"

"It's me, Naruto. It's who I am. I know it and he knows it. I have to get back."

"Why? Why would you _want _to go back?"

"I have to!"

"Why?"

"Because-because," Gaara stammered. "It's where I belong."

The blond's jaw dropped and his grip loosened. Gaara yanked his arms free and punched the blond with all of his strength away from him.

"Stay away from me! Don't touch me! I'm tired of this!"

Naruto reeled from the force of the blow, but he darted forward resolutely, trying to pin Gaara again. But the redhead was prepared now. He caught the blond's arms easily and kicked him away, into the table. Naruto yelped from the pain, but he was up again. This time, he didn't charge. He kept his distance, his blue eyes despairing and angry. "He's a monster for doing this to you! He's a horrible excuse for a human being! _He's_ nothing! _He's_ trash!"

"I'm the monster. I killed my own mother. I made Temari's life hell! I am the bane of my father's existence!"

"So what?"

"So I shouldn't have an existence at all! Horrible man or not, he is a man, whereas I am a monster. If I died, everyone would be better off!"

"That's not true! I wouldn't!"

"My mother would!"

"That's not true either!"

"How would you know? How would anyone know? She is dead because of me!"

"It wasn't your fault! Why do you blame yourself for everything? You're so stupid!"

They were both breathing heavily now. Both of them were crying.

And both of them were dying a little inside.

"Why won't you give up?" Gaara panted. "Why won't you just leave like everyone else?"

"Because you'll be alone!"

"Have you ever considered that I should be alone? That it's fate, my punishment?"

"I don't believe in fate!"

Naruto lunged at him again. The redhead kicked him, a solid kick straight to the chest, sending his body flying back into the table, hard enough to shake and move the table. The blond fell to the floor with a thud, his head smacking against the floor. He didn't move. "Naruto?" Gaara approached him cautiously. He felt onto one knee and shook the blond's shoulder, but it was no use. He was out cold. The redhead sat cross-legged and pulled Naruto's head into his lap. The redhead ran a hand through his hair. Good, no blood. He'd be fine. A bad bump, perhaps, but nothing his blond couldn't handle.

"Naruto. Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Gaara sighed. _Drip. Drip. _His tears were falling to the kitchen floor, sounding louder than they should've. _Drip. Drip. _

Gaara picked Naruto up gently and placed him on his living room couch.

He kissed Naruto's spiky blond head and stood up.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><strong>Is it weird that when I have to write really angsty chapters like this and the next chapter that I listen to "My Heart Will Go On," from "Titanic?" Which I don't own, BTW. <strong>

**Okay, just tell it to me how it is, no flattery, just truth. **

**Oh and it's going passed forty chapters, no worries. I couldn't wrap this up in one more chapter. **


	40. Not the Last Chapter

Gaara ran home, staggering and stumbling. He could barely see. Tears blinded him and he closed his eyes for all the good they were to him at the moment. His legs throbbed as he ran. He wanted to slow down, but he couldn't. Gaara knew that if he did, then he would go back to Naruto. If he slowed down or even thought of the blond, he would go home.

_Home? _

His mind had slipped up. Naruto's home. It was Naruto's home. Naruto belonged there, not him.

The redhead tripped over something and fell to his knees on all fours. His palms burned, but he paid them no attention. He could only stay there for a moment, his breathing ragged and harsh, his head bowed, his red bangs sticking to his sweaty face. His knees and palms burned, but his heart burned more. Gaara wanted so badly to be with Naruto right now. He wanted to apologize for the hurtful things he'd said. Things that were half lies to keep Naruto away from him. Half lies, half truth. Hurtful things he hoped would keep Naruto away from him for good. But he knew Naruto would never leave him alone and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Happy that the blond would never give up on him or wishing the blond would leave him alone and quit making him feel this way. So confused with mixed emotions about things that should be easy. He didn't know what to do. Go home. Go home.

The words processed and Gaara stood up, opening his eyes as he did so. His knees were bleeding and cut, but still, he ignored them, as they weren't his biggest concern right now. He pressed his palm against his forehead as a headache formed. Go home. Go home. In his state of confusion, of despair and grief and longing, he listened to these two words. Go home, go home. He would go home. Home. His hand came away from his forehead bloody and he stared at it, mesmerized by the deep red color. Blood. Somehow though, his bleeding palm didn't hurt as much as his heart. Maybe it was because Gaara knew his hand would heal. And his heart probably wouldn't.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up sore as hell and wishing he had a cup of Ramen. He sat up. He was on his couch. In his house. He blinked. His eyes had trouble focusing for a moment, but soon he could make out his surroundings. He yawned. Maybe he should go back to sleep... then what had happened before hit him like a brick to the groin. He jerked back up and swung his legs over the side of the couch. He tried to stand up. And staggered as his head throbbed. "Fuck," he cussed, falling back onto the couch. His whole body was sore, damnit!<p>

Naruto ignored his body's protests and tried to stand again. Success! He was up!

The door swung open with a smack and he cussed and jumped in fright, falling back against the couch.

"Jiraiya, old man! What time is it?"

* * *

><p>He was almost there. He felt no relief, just a grim sense of accomplishment. He was here. He'd done it. Gaara could see it now. See his house. See his home. Where he belonged.<p>

* * *

><p>"It's almost-"<p>

"Never mind! It doesn't matter!" the old man backed up in surprise as his godson threw himself off the couch and flung himself at the door. And hitting it with a slam. "Idiot," Jiraiya shook his head. "Listen, this is called a door knob. You turn it and then you can push the door open." He opened the door for the blond. In a split second, the blond had almost fallen out the door in his haste to leave the house. He stumbled a little on the sidewalk and tripped on a clump of weeds growing between the cracks of the pavement, but the determined blond just got back up.

"Where's the fire?" Jiraiya yelled. "Geez, that kid's energetic." He shut the door. And sighed. He hated taking over Tsunade's job for her while she was gone. He had a lot of things to do, mostly paperwork. Being the principal for a few days was worst than he'd thought, which was saying something because he'd known it would be awful. It was so busy and involved effort. Something he didn't like to exert. The old man sighed. He wished Tsunade would come back already.

* * *

><p>Gaara opened his door tentatively. No one home. Not Temari or Kankuro, just him and Dad.<p>

* * *

><p>The more desperate Naruto became, the harder it was to run straight. He was clumsy and he hated it now more than ever before.<p>

* * *

><p>Where were his siblings? Would Kankuro care? A week ago, he'd seem upset, but did he really care? Did he have the guts to be here? The guts to be here and actually know what was going on for once? Was he here, maybe? Maybe he was just going to do what Temari did; watch his suffering with silent tears? Gaara didn't know if he wanted Kankuro to watch, watch their father and see him for the man he truly was, not the good father facade he held up, or if he wanted his brother to go away, stay out of it and leave him alone.<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto could barely remember the way to Gaara's house.<em> Shit, shit, shit! Way to go, Naruto, you're so stupid! Why didn't you get the address before leaving?<em>

* * *

><p>Gaara dropped his bag on the floor. He bit his lip as he heard floorboards creak.<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto found a street he thought was familiar. It looked familiar, but then, every street in this fucking neighborhood looked the same, even the houses and especially when it was dark, as it was getting right now. Fuck, how long had he been unconscious? A few hours, at most. Damnit! What was the name of Gaara's street? He had to remember, he knew this, he could remember, he would remember. Sometimes, he truly hated his forgetfulness and his wandering mind. Why couldn't he remember? He wracked his brain. Name, name, name of the street. He backtracked. Okay, this was where he'd started last time he'd visited Gaara. Back then, all he'd had was the name. Well, now all he had was memory. He would have to go by memory. Try to remember the path he'd taken.<p>

Shouldn't that be easier to do than randomly searching for the right street name?

* * *

><p>There he was. The figure in his dreams, the nightmare and the fear. His gut was churning now. He wanted to throw up. Good thing he had nothing to throw up.<p>

If there was anything good about the situation or in the world at all.

His father wasn't smiling, just staring at him. And approaching him slowly. Gaara resisted the urge to back away.

* * *

><p>There! Something definitely familiar! Yes, that was definitely the street! Naruto could see Gaara's shitty backyard.<p>

* * *

><p>Gaara shivered. His father's hand was cold. He gulped as his father's thumb brushed against his throat gently. The lull before the storm.<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto didn't hesitate this time. He hoped Gaara's bedroom window was open. Shit, it wasn't now what- wait a moment. Someone else's window was opened. He hoped it wasn't Mr. Sabaku's. Maybe it was one of his siblings' room? Whatever. It didn't matter. He hoped he didn't land on anyone, but that wasn't his biggest concern, so he didn't particularly care. He scampered up the tree closest to that window like a squirrel. He fell a few times, but got back up the moment he went down. He was not going to be stopped. Not even if he broke every bone in his body.<p>

Not even if he had to face Gaara's father.

* * *

><p><strong>It's weird typing a story in a public place knowing one of you readers could be standing right behind me. *glances back* <strong>

**Ok, I realize this may seem confusing, but it'll make more sense in the next chapter. All shall be explained! **


	41. I'm Running Out of Names For Chapters

Naruto flung himself through the window. He clipped his shoulder and his knees, but he did make it through the window, regardless of how clumsy. He fell to the hard ground and cussed quietly. The floor was carpeted, but it wasn't enough to lessen the ache in his body. Naruto gripped his left knee. It was really burning. But then he remembered. Oh sure, he'd have a bruise, but it was nothing compared to what Gaara would be feeling. Was he too late? Did Gaara's entire body look like his knee did?

The thought made him scramble to his feet, though he did stagger slightly as pain spiked up his legs. He rubbed his sore shoulder and glanced around the room. Too clean to be Kankuro's. And kind of girly. Probably Temari's. He went to the door and carefully pushed down the handle. Naruto pushed against the door and winced as it squeaked slightly. Damn, did Temari ever oil her door? It make sneaking of your room easy. Then again, they had a load of trees just outside their windows, so maybe the Sabaku siblings didn't need to oil their doors as much as their windows.

The blond shook his head clear of pointless thoughts. Nothing to be done about it now. He glanced out the door and looked both ways. No one here or there. He listened. No sound from anywhere. Complete silence. But just as he considered it safe enough to run out, a phone rang. He heard hurried footsteps and hastily withdrew his head. Just in time as Kaze Sabaku walked passed him, stomped down the stairs and answered the phone. "Yes?" Naruto heard from downstairs. "This is he. No, I told you to take care of that. No, that's ridiculous, why would I-" his voice became muffled and Naruto couldn't hear anymore.

Not that he'd been able to hear too well with blood rushing through his ears as his anger pulsed.

The blond shook his head angrily and edged out of the room. To Gaara's room. To the door. Pushing the door handle. About to push it open-

"What are you talking about? I can't drop everything and go to... you're going in and out," Kaze shouted angrily. "Find somewhere with better connection... that's better. I can't drop everything and go to the middle of nowhere because you people can't handle the business without me...The money invested and money earned balances perfectly so I don't have to work every day... say that again and I'll make sure you never work for my or any other oil company ever again."

Pause. Now Naruto was curious. Gaara's father owned an oil company? Maybe that's why he could afford to stay home and drink all day.

"Why don't you take care of it, Baki?"

Another pause.

"This is extrememly inconvenient for me, Baki, but I suppose this is mandatory. I have a house nearby, so I guess-"

A sigh.

"I'll see when I can book a flight. Soon, probably. I'll be there by Monday. I just have- oh wait, someone else is on the line, hold, will you?"

There was a beep. Naruto grinned. Kaze Sabaku was leaving? For how long? This was unbelievable. He was leaving? Too good to be true. The blond's heart beat in his chest. Yes! This was really great news! Oh wait, Sabaku was talking again. He strained his ears, trying to hear. But he soon found he didn't need to as Kaze's voice rose until he was shouting. "Temari? Darling, is this you? What... are you wasted? You-" he paused, listening to her response. "What? Are you driving? You're not! Then who is? Young lady, if you're with a boy-! Kankuro? Are you driving? You know that's illegal, you only have a permit... why wouldn't you call me?"

Kankuro and Temari were coming home soon? That could complicate things. A lot.

Naruto froze as he heard the phone being slammed into its holder. He pushed Gaara's door open hastily and slipped inside before his father could catch him.

It was dark. The window was shut. The air was cold. He couldn't see anything. Nothing. But he could hear something. Quiet, ragged breathing.

"Gaara?"

The breathing stopped.

* * *

><p><strong>Only DarkAngelJudas understood. I guess I wasn't clear enough, so sorry. The original plot twist was to have Naruto do an Obito, but I didn't want to kill him off. Oh sure, it would end the story off fairly well. But that would upset people, and frankly it would upset me too. All the best characters seem to die in my stories. So I have come up with a different ending. Hope you guys don't mind this story getting really long. I know you guys say it's interesting and you hope it'll never end, however a lot of people say that when they sense the end is near. Now that you know the end isn't near, do you wish it was? <strong>

**Oh and I don't know if I should make another sequel or just write a load of chapters for this one story. You guys want to tell me which one you prefer or if you'd prefer I wrap it up. **


	42. Limbo

**This might seem confusing, but keep in mind that this is all going on in Gaara's head, so everything that happens in his head is in italics. However, memories are in plain font and underline because... well they can't be in italics if everything else is in italics and having it in plain font would be too confusing. I would put it in bold, but I save bold for Author Notes. **

**OK. Done explaining and babbling. On with the story chapter. Kind of... sad, I guess? That's what I was attempting, but being a wayward author, you'll have to tell me if you felt it.**

**Gaara's POV**

* * *

><p><em>Nothingness. <em>

_Darkness. _

_It was a very out of body experience. He felt like he was... well out of his own body, like he was floating somewhere. Floating somewhere away from the pain. _

_He felt so empty inside. No Shukaku. No Naruto. __No one here but him. And not even him. He felt himself slipping away. His life slipped away from him and he no longer knew or cared that his name was Gaara Sabaku and his life was a living hell and the only thing good and right about it, was a boy named Naruto. _

_Part of him liked the pain he was feeling in a masochistic way. It was a feeling. He could feel pain and that pain kept him rooted to the living world. It was something. It proved to him that he did in fact exist. Part of him, the normal part of him that reacted like any other human being, shied away from the pain. That part was what was pushing him away from the physical world. To escape the pain, he'd have to sink inside himself. And never resurface. Pain. He knew it well. It wasn't something he wanted. Or maybe it was? It was a very strange feeling, a limbo between living and not living. Part of him felt that pain and the pain was good because it kept one foot firmly with the living. The other part of him was dying. And didn't mind doing so. Did he want pain or not? _

_He wasn't sure if he was alive or dead. Which one appealed to him more? He certainly didn't like this limbo. He didn't like the pain. Nor did he like the thought of nothingness, of dying. But he was hurting. Hurting so badly, inside and out. It hurt. Hurt to be hurt by someone who should love you. Hurt to be unloved. Hurt to be alone. Hurt to hate himself so much. Hurt to be so confused. Hurt to be tied firmly to the living while tugging towards the dead. _

_Dead or living? _

_Neither appealed to him. _

_He decided to just _be. _Don't make any decisions. Just stay here and think. Do nothing. Wait for what would come, to come. Easy. Simple. _

_In life, things were never that simple. But he wasn't really alive now, was he? He was somewhere in between. So it felt. _

_At one point, he remembered a name. Naruto. _

_Naruto. _

_He knew it wasn't his name. _

_But who was important enough to remember now, in his darkest moment? _

_Who was Naruto to him? _

_Memories. He began to remember. _

"No way." Gaara stiffened as he heard Naruto continue to walk his way, but what was he going to do about it? This was Naruto's house. He felt the blond sit behind him and lean against the couch with a contented sigh. "You've got the right idea, Gaara, my floor's pretty comfortable," the blond said. He put his arms behind his head and nodded off in seconds. He was quick, deep sleeper and soon he was snoring as loudly as before. Something about the way he was breathing, the way he was snoring, wasn't obnoxious. It was comforting, comforting that he was there, so close by, close enough to touch. He wasn't alone. A week ago, this would've bothered him. But now... his eyes drifted closed.

_Naruto. He was the first person to have ever gotten that close. The only person who'd even tried. Why? _

Gaara wasn't alone. He'd forgotten. He wasn't alone. Naruto was here. Naruto was here. He was here. He was light. He was there in the darkness. He was the light in the darkness. He was warmth in the cold landscape of his mind and of his heart. Naruto was here for him. Things had changed. Things were different. If he faded right now, someone would care. Naruto would. His life, his existence, had some meaning, had been justified, maybe not to himself, but to Naruto.

"Gaara? Please," Naruto pleaded. He wanted the redhead to know. Know they were friends. Know that he wasn't going to leave him, that he wasn't alone in this forest.

That he wasn't alone anywhere, never again, as long as Naruto was alive.

_He was alone now, wasn't he? Gaara thought mournfully of the last time he'd seen him. It was his fault he was alone. He was alone because he didn't deserve someone like Naruto. As much as he wanted Naruto, as much as he loved the blond, he was glad he wasn't there. This was self-inflicted. He was suffering because this was his fate. Naruto shouldn't have tried so hard to fight it. He shouldn't have tried. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have gotten hurt in the end. Naruto shouldn't have gotten hurt. He didn't deserve to get hurt and Gaara wished he hadn't been such a weakling. He'd hurt Naruto. Not just physically. _

_He should have never let Naruto that close. He was a broken human being and Naruto was so whole. Naruto was so caring, too caring. If he, Gaara, had only kept him outside, outside of his hellish world, than maybe Naruto wouldn't have gotten hurt. Naruto. He wished he'd never met Naruto. But then, almost immediately after the thought crossed his mind, he took it back. If he'd never met Naruto... he wouldn't have ever been loved, however briefly. Was the pain of knowing love equal to the pain of never loving at all? Instinctively, his first thought was that no, it wasn't. _

_But first thoughts rarely are correct. _

His whole body was tingling and Gaara found his mind falling in the gutter as his heart beat faster. He pressed himself closer to his blond friend and deepened their kiss. Naruto's arms curled around Gaara's waist and pulled him even closer. The redhead groaned, wrapping one hand around Naruto's back, the other around his friend's neck. Blood was rushing through his ears and he found everything falling away. The physical world was nothing. All that mattered now was Naruto. His skin touching Naruto's. Fire, warm passionate warmth racing over his skin, in his blood. This was feeling alive. This was truly enjoying his existence. He felt... whole. He didn't feel like the broken half of a person anymore.

_His second thought, was that yes, it was. Love was worth it. He wanted love so badly. _

_But he couldn't have it. He didn't deserve it. _

_But he'd had it, hadn't he? _

_Naruto. Because of Naruto. _

_Immediately, sorrow clenched and tightened into a small, tense knot in his gut. His best friend. More than that. Much more than that. So much more than that. He'd shoved Naruto away. _

Naruto was one person. He was unique. He might've been a blabber mouth, but he was more than that. He seemed like the last person to have it, but he had depth to him, a depth other kids lacked. He was the exception. Everyone else? No. Naruto was the only exception. Gaara had once read the Christmas Carol and read that Scrooge hadn't had anyone at his funeral. Back then, the thought of anyone grieving over his death was an impossibility. But he had thought of other people back then, wondering if quantity was better than quality, wondering how it felt to lose someone. Wondering if love even existed, if it was better to die unknown, or to die loved and causing the people you loved pain. And then he had wondered if he would be upset if no one came to his funeral.

Now, he was sure that one person would come to his funeral, when he died, whether it was sooner or later.

If you had one person at your funeral, just one person who loved you and cared about you and would miss you when you were gone, then did it really matter if it was just one person?

_It was for the best. Naruto didn't know what he was doing. He was an idiot and it was wrong for Gaara to want him, to love him so badly. _

"Gaara?"

There it was. That voice. It couldn't be...

His breathing stopped and his heart stopped as he was drawn back to the living.

* * *

><p><strong>Satan, this felt forced. Tell me how awful you felt this chapter was. It was supposed to be all depressing, but... it might've just been plain irritating because of the flashbacks. And it might seem lazy to put clips from previous chapters, but the intention was... to put some depth to this chapter? You know what, just review and tell me. <strong>


	43. Praying: Effective or Not?

Gaara gasped and managed to breathe again, but it hurt. His chest hurt and he instinctively curled inward. Bad move. Immediately, every muscle, every bone, every part of him screamed in pain. The agony was too much for him and he couldn't breathe again. All he could do was wait. Wait for the pain to recede, all the while holding his breath. "Gaara, are you okay? Gaara?" that voice, the voice he loved most in the world, was talking to him. And he wished he wasn't hearing it. Because it surely meant Naruto was here. And the last thing he wanted right now was for Naruto to be here.

Naruto glanced around the room. Where was Gaara? He wasn't lying in the open. Naruto strained his ears. He could hear breathing, but where was it coming from?

After a second, it came to him. He got on his kness and bent down and peered under the bed.

It was hard to see under the bed, but he could make out a dark shadow against the even darker wall. Gaara had his back to him. And he was shaking.

"Gaara? Are you okay? Wait, that's a stupid question. How bad are you hurt? Can you move?"

"Go away."

"No. Can you move?" Naruto reached under the bed, but Gaara, without looking, shrunk away.

He gasped in pain. Moving was so painful. So much effort.

"Gaara-"

"I said go away. And I mean it, Naruto. Get out of here. I don't want you here."

His words were blunt and for a moment, they stung. But Naruto closed his eyes and braced himself. Gaara wasn't going to hurt him. He knew what the redhead was doing. He was trying to push him away. Well it wasn't going to work. Let the redhead say whatever he wanted to say. Naruto wasn't going to be swayed. Not at all. Let him say whatever he wanted to say. In the end, he was only hurting himself. And Naruto knew the only way he could stop Gaara from being hurt was to be here for him. Whether the redhead wanted it or not.

"Shut up."

Gaara was stunned. Naruto telling him to shut up? It was certainly strange to hear Naruto tell him so seriously to shut up. He didn't feel like talking anyway. Maybe if he was quiet, then the blond would go away.

And he almost smiled at the thought. If only that was even remotely possible. He'd been trying that tactic all year. Completely ineffective.

He felt something poke his back. "Gaara, quit playing hide and seek and get out!"

Again, he almost smiled at Naruto's commanding tone. But there was no way he was going to leave this hiding place. He wouldn't, he couldn't, he shouldn't. Curling up and dying was a viable option now.

Two hands grabbed him and yanked him out from under the bed with strength he didn't know the blond possessed.

He bit his lip until it bled as pain wracked his body. But not just from the pain. From the odd pleasure. He liked hurting. It felt... so real. Everything else in this world right now, even Naruto, seemed surreal. He could feel himself slipping away..."Gaara, oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Any harshness in his commanding voice was now gone and only concern for his friend remained. He felt Naruto's hands on his body and he flinched. He was tired of being hurt. He was so tired of it all. He was so tired of living. What kind of cruel God made him exist if every day of his life he wished he would die? "Gaara, wake up! Snap out of it!"

"Why do I exist? Is God a sadist? He made me exist so he could torture me?"

Naruto frowned at Gaara. The redhead sounded... like he was babbling. Gaara never babbled.

"Every day, I wish I would die."

Naruto crossed his leg and pulled Gaara closer, into his lap until he was leaning against the blond. His red hair tickled Naruto's cheek. The blond put his cheek to Gaara's neck.

"You're so stupid you don't have the right to call me stupid," Naruto murmured.

"God left me. God made me to torture me."

Naruto hugged his battered body tighter against his chest.

And through the pain, Gaara registered love in that hug.

And for the first time, an idea came to his head, an idea that hadn't ocurred to him. God really must be a sadist. Not just torturing him. Torturing Naruto. Making the blond fall in love with him, the one person he shouldn't have. The one person, the one _thing _that no one should have to deal with, a burden on mankind. Poor Naruto. He felt bad for Naruto. And angry at God, if there was one. Angry that a God could torture someone like Naruto, someone as good and whole and righteous as him.

Naruto let go of Gaara gently, letting him fall back against his bedside. He got in front of the redhead and placed his hands on his knees.

"Gaara-" but he faltered. Nothing he said ever got through to Gaara. The whole argument they'd had earlier could attest to that.

Maybe he could show what words couldn't.

The blond leaned forward and kissed him.

Praying that he could get through to the redhead, show him that he was loved, show him that he cared. Praying that Gaara would see what was right in front of him. Praying, hoping that there was a God up there that cared about the people he created. Praying that He hadn't just made people to abandon them when they needed Him most. Naruto really wanted Gaara to see the light. He wanted Gaara to see what was obvious. That he was a person and he deserved love and happiness just as much as anyone, no, more so than anyone else.

Naruto was not the most religious person.

But damnit, this time he prayed.

* * *

><p><strong>This might be seen as Christian. Or Anti-Christian. Whichever way you want to interpret it, you can. <strong>

**Or this may seem confusing to you. In which case, I have failed in my attempts at writing. **

**Am not Christian, though, if that helps. **


	44. Praying Didn't, You Did

Gaara didn't respond to the kiss at first. He just sat there for a moment.

Then he leaned forward and kissed him back, settling into Naruto's lap.

Tears crept down his cheeks. Both of them were crying now.

Naruto hugged him and pulled him closer. Gaara pulled out of the kiss, instead settling his head on Naruto's shoulder and hugging him back. This feeling. This feeling was so... wonderful. He was so happy. His heart hurt, but the rest of him felt alive. He felt whole. He felt alive, truly alive, not the shadow of life he'd been living his whole life before Naruto. Maybe this feeling was fake and temporary, but it was still-

Naruto pulled away and kissed him again.

He put all of his passion and love, everything he had, into this kiss. He kissed the redhead in a way he'd never done before. His fingers curled into Gaara's hair and he pulled the redhead closer with desire. Gaara wrapped his arms around Naruto's neck. He wanted this moment to last forever. With Naruto here, he couldn't feel his injuries anymore. With Naruto here, he couldn't feel the loneliness and the suffering and the worthlessness. He wanted Naruto was so badly, needed him to feel right.

And he felt selfish.

Naruto's fingers were tugging almost painfully at his scalp, but he couldn't focus on anything but that magical feeling of being loved.

Maybe with Shukaku gone, he was only a half. Maybe he'd been alone. Maybe he felt alone and maybe he was broken.

But if he could feel fixed, if he could feel whole, then maybe it wasn't as impossible as he'd thought.

Gaara smiled and Naruto pulled back. "Why are you smiling?" he giggled quietly, fingers gently stroking the side of Gaara's face.

"Because once again, you've changed my mind about myself."

"I guess prayers come true then, huh?" Naruto asked, smiling.

"Prayers? I don't know why you'd bring up praying. Praying didn't do anything for me. You did."

He leaned forward, catching the blond's lips with his own. Gaara pushed gently against Naruto's chest and he fell on to his blond lover, still kissing him.

Gaara gasped. His ribs were killing him. But he didn't care.

Naruto did, though and he noticed the pained gasp. "Gaara, are you okay?" the blond asked, propping himself up on his elbows, eyeing his redhead with concern. "Gaara, we have to get you to a hospital or something, take off your shirt-" the redhead got off him gingerly and scooted to the wall, leaning against the wall. He balanced his crossed arms on his bent knees and laid his head down. "Naruto-" he started to say, but his friend was not having it. "No! No options! I'm telling you-!" But they both fell silent as they heard the door slam downstairs.

"He's going to pick up Kankuro and Temari. I think they're drunk or something," Naruto explained. But as he looked at Gaara, he realized the redhead didn't care.

"Take off your shirt!" Naruto yelled. Now that Sabaku was gone, he could yell as loud as he wanted. "And get up! We're going to my house-!"

"No, we aren't," Gaara sighed, smiling slightly as he realized how seme Naruto sounded right then. But at this moment, he shouldn't be making jokes. So he did obey the first command. He did pull his shirt off, this time easier than the last time because neither of his arms were busted this time and his shoulder didn't hurt so much anymore, only tightening occasionally. His arms were bruised, but not too badly. His father had aimed at the places he could cover. His face was completely unmarked. But he still felt like hell and he'd still lost consciousness, so it counted for very little.

Again, like the first, Naruto was consumed with fury. "I can't take this anymore! What is wrong with you Gaara? Why haven't you killed that bastard yet?"

Gaara looked up.

And met fierce blue eyes. Eyes that pierced his own eyes, trying to see his secrets. Eyes that he loved and trusted. Wide, open, vulnerable eys that never hid anything from him.

And suddenly, the redhead felt the need to stop hiding.

"Naruto, I had two personalities. One was me. The me now. And the other was named Shukaku."

That name. It rang a bell.

_Naruto flicked the light switch off. He'd turned on the light in the first place, hearing Gaara whispering to himself and getting out of bed to investigate. When he'd gotten to the living room, he'd listened, in the dark, as Gaara muttered in his sleep. "I won't scream, I won't scream," Gaara had muttered. Naruto knew what he was dreaming, and he went to turn on the light. But what Gaara said next distracted him. "Darkness. Box. Help me, Shukaku."_

_Who was Shukaku?_

_"_Shukaku? What do you mean 'had'?" Naruto asked.

"Shukaku protected me. He had all my anger and fighting ability and hatred. He attacked Sasuke the first day of school, remember that? He liked fighting and he always protected me. He-he could control me. Every time I've ever hit someone, has been Shukaku. Until, well, until Tuesday. He left me. And I didn't know why. That's why I couldn't bear to be in the classroom that day, remember? I left and I ran away. I couldn't deal with being alone. That's why I told you that I am only half of a person. Without him, I-"

Gaara stopped. Naruto had a strange look on his face.

"Gaara-"

The redhead waited. In all honesty, he expected Naruto to say, "Gaara you're a freak," or "Gaara, you're crazy," or something along those lines.

Then again, Naruto never did what Gaara or anyone else for that matter expected.

"You really are stupid, aren't you?"

* * *

><p><strong>I realize this story has Anti-Christian messages in it. <strong>

**Heh. Heh. Heh. **

**So the end is drawing close. Review while you can until it's too late! JK. Review if you want to. Or don't. It doesn't piss me off or stop me from updating. **

**I was just hoping to hit 300 reviews, 'cause 263 is halfway there. And I hate leaving things half done. **


	45. Underage Driving or Drunk Driving

"You're so stupid."

Gaara tilted his head at the blond. He was smiling broadly and had that smug I-know-something-you-don't look.

"How so?" he asked.

"You keep calling me an idiot, man, aren't you hypoc-hypocr-erm, something with a K at the end?" Naruto looked at Gaara for help.

"I know what you mean," the redhead said, rolling his eyes. "Hypocritical."

"Right. Whatever. Here, I'll explain it to you." Gaara waited for Naruto to quit giggling like a little girl with mild amusement and mirth in his seafoam eyes.

"You're really stupid if you think Shukaku is gone."

Gaara's eyes widened and he looked at Naruto like he'd never seen a blond buffoon before.

"What? How would you know? I can't feel his presence anymore."

Naruto was a little uneasy. Hearing that Gaara had a voice in his head that controlled his actions was creepy, no doubt about it. And now Gaara was talking about this... second personality like it was a person and had a being in his mind? Creepy. Really creepy.

"I mean, that if such a personality existed in your mind, than it can't just be... gone. It doesn't work like that. It was a part of your mind, wasn't it? You can't just get rid of emotions and feelings like that. Not that easy. You know how long most people take to get rid of personality disorders? Forever. Shukaku or whatever was a part of you and he will always be. I bet right now you have anger and stuff. You said he had your anger and stuff, right?" Naruto took the answer from Gaara's face and plowed on without a verbal reply.

"Well, it's yours. It's still there. Just, now you don't have a personality disorder, you have one person in one mind, like you're supposed to. Is that why ealier you said you were only half a person? Well now you're whole. Stupid Gaara, you were never half a person, you're just a nutball. Whole? Half? You've always been whole." He leaned back, that smug look still on his face, arms crossed as if daring Gaara to deny everything he'd just said. Again, Naruto was full of surprises. Yet another thing he'd never thought of.

But-

"But I don't. I have no anger. I-I don't have the will to fight."

"Nonsense!"

* * *

><p>Kaze Sabaku cursed as he drove, trying to find Temari's car. As if he didn't have enough crap to worry about. Now he had to find Temari and Kankuro. His only son had parked the car on the side of the road and had seen a cop car behind him and had freaked out. Temari, in her intoxicated state, had called him. And according to Kankuro, it was by accident. Kaze didn't understand what had gotten into his beloved son, Kankuro lately. He'd been avoiding him and glaring at him when he thought his father wasn't looking. But Kaze was always looking. He loved Kankuro and Temari and he wished they wouldn't be so distant. Why were they so angry at him?<p>

His mind wandered. And darkened. He knew why they were angry. _Oh my poor children, you don't understand, do you? _

That thing at home. Gaara. How he hated him. It.

They didn't understand. They couldn't see passed Gaara's human face and human skin. They couldn't see the darkness, the evil and emptiness inside Gaara.

And they didn't know.

They didn't know that Gaara was the spawn of his mother and another man. Hence, the red hair and lack of resemblance to any of them.

Anything that was the result of adultery could only be as evil as the deed itself.

Gaara was the result of evil.

And he deserved to be treated as nothing less. His face was like his mother's. But his face was also like his mother's lover.

Kaze had been tempted to kill him the moment he was born. He could tell, just tell that Gaara wasn't his. But he'd waited, hoping that as Gaara grew, he'd prove his suspicion wrong.

But he hadn't. Gaara was obviously not his.

It was obvious by the time he was six.

* * *

><p>Kankuro watched Temari puke into the grass with blatant disgust.<p>

His blond sister wiped her mouth. "That-that was disgusting," she said shakily. "Ugh." He glanced at her. Now Kankuro was pretty sure she wasn't as happy drunk as she had been before, since she was standing without staggering and her face wasn't as happy. Technically, she wasn't allowed to drink. But when she was attractive and had money she could pay someone older to buy her drinks. So being allowed to had nothing to do with it. Kankuro didn't know what was going through his sister's head. She was never a drinker. Sure, she was seventeen and that's what seventeen year olds do, but Temari wasn't the type who liked getting buzzed for no reason.

He was right. Temari had had a reason.

She knew her father would be home.

And she couldn't bear to be home with him and Gaara. She knew this was the day he got back and she knew that today was going to be worse than any other day.

And goddamnit, she was a coward! She knew it. She shouldn't have gone out drinking to ease her suffering. Temari knew her brother might be dying for all she knew back home.

But she had thought Kankuro would be home. And she had hoped that just for once, she wouldn't have to watch or hear Gaara's pain, that Kankuro instead could hear it and see it and know how helpless she felt. To somehow justify her silence over the years. She knew he thought she was a coward. And she knew it was true. But she wanted her cowardice to be justified. So she wanted her brother to see Gaara's pain and the monster that was their father. Then he would know why she was so scared and maybe he wouldn't judge her so harshly.

It was selfish.

And now, realization hit her as the last of her alcohol rush drained away. Kankuro was here. He wasn't home.

And Gaara was alone.

Shit.

"Why-why duh-did you leave home? You left Gah-ra alone," Temari moaned. "I-I thought he was coming home Saturday," Kankuro said. "I saw you leave and I didn't want to be alone with... him. I waited a few minutes, but you didn't come back... so I followed you. I never thought you'd be in a bar," he scowled. She glanced guiltily at him. "Sor-ry," she said. "Gaara's home alone," Kankuro said, realizing that his little brother was alone. Again.

"Shit."

"My thoughts precisely," Temari murmured. She straightened up and staggered to the car. "Come on."

Kankuro pushed her away from the driver's side. "No way are you driving," he said firmly. "But-"

"Not buts. I'd rather we get pulled over for underage driving than drunk driving."

She nodded and climbed into the passenger seat. Kankuro, with heavy apprehension on his face, took the wheel.

And slowly, they got on the road. Kankuro's hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white. Temari gritted her teeth nervously, but her vision was too blurry for her to take the wheel.

"Wait a moment, y-yo-ou didn't call Dad, did you?"

"I didn't. You did. By accident. You were on the phone and you called him, surely you remember?"

"I remember, I just want ta' know _exactly _what you said to him. We have to go home _right now. _Tell me what you said. But keep your eyes on the road."


	46. Untitled

They got to the house in twice the time it would've taken Temari. But while she had a sense of urgency, she also had a sense of self-preservation. With Kankuro driving, perhaps it was best to take things as slow as possible. Still. Gaara needed their help. But, what help could they be if they were splattered across the windshield? _Probably no more help than you'd be at home. What are you going to do, Temari? You've never managed to do anything helpful for Gaara home or not. _A wave of guilt rushed over her and she felt the urge to throw up again. "Temari? You okay? Are you going to throw up again?" Kankuro asked, worried.

"No," she said, shoving against the door of the car. She fumbled for the handle and pushed herself out, staggering out of the car. She pressed herself against the cool garage wall and took a deep breath. Good. Wait a moment. She didn't have time to wait a moment. "Kankuro, come on," she huffed. "I'm waiting on you," Kankuro said. He glanced at the empty half of the garage. "Dad's out, he's probably looking for us, by now. We only have a few minutes." The thought spurred her into action. Temari wiped her mouth with her sleeve and gritted her teeth.

"Gaara? Gaara are you okay?"

* * *

><p><strong>Back to Where I Left Off Their Conversation: <strong>

"Naruto, you really-" but there was nothing Gaara could say, because he had never considered this idea. But he felt so...

"It's empty inside, Naruto."

"It's probably 'cause you're used to hearing another voice in your head. Now your head's full of empty space," Naruto giggled. " You really are a nut job, aren't you?"

Naruto paled as the redhead didn't respond. Would Gaara take this as an insult? Now that he said it, it sounded really mean. He'd only been kidding.

"I'm sorry, I was just kidding, man. Gaara? Sorry," Naruto said hastily. He watched Gaara nervously. For a moment, the redhead just sat there, staring at nothing.

Then a smile widened on his face. And he laughed.

"I really am messed up, aren't I?"

He leaned forward and hugged Naruto again. Then gasped and clutched his chest, coughing violently. He fell onto his back and curled up on his side, moaning in pain.

Naruto was at his side in half a second.

"Gaara, this is stupid. We need professional help, but Tsunade's not here, she's away. I suppose-"

"I-If i go to a hospital, they'll ask- q-questions," Gaara gasped out painfully. Breathing was hard. Talking was harder.

"I don't care-"

"You don't understand. They'll ask about my parents," the redhead wheezed.

"Oh." This was an idea that had never ocurred to Naruto. "Well, uh, we can have Jiraiya pretend to be your dad or adult supervision or whatever it is you need-"

"No!" Naruto glanced at Gaara. "No way am I letting you-"

"Naruto!"

Before they could further debate, the door downstairs swung open.

Both of them fell silent.

"Gaara? Gaara, are you okay?"

Two voices. Two pairs of footsteps creaking across the floorboards as they split up and searched the house. _If they're looking for me, then why wouldn't they check my bedroom first? _Gaara thought. Not that he minded. The more alone time he had with Naruto, the better. He didn't want them here; he had Naruto. "Kankuro and Temari," Gaara murmured. "I wish they'd leave me alone." The blond raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? You wish they'd leave you alone?"

"You're here. I'm not alone, am I?" Gaara asked.

"Finally realize that now, did you?" Naruto grinned.

When Temari found them, she found them kissing, Naruto's arm wrapped around her brother's waist, and Gaara's arms wraped around his neck.

She was so shocked she screamed.

Making both of them jump and scoot away from each other in surprise.

"Oh. Temari. We're busy," Naruto said, grinning at her.

"Temi? Temi, what's the problem? Did you find him?" Kankuro yelled, stomping up the stairs. He froze as he saw Naruto.

"Oh, it's you."

"Surprised?" Naruto asked.

"I guess not," Kankuro mumbled. "Gaara, you're alive?"

"No thanks to you," Gaara murmured.

"Gaara!"

"What is it, Temari?"

"You're gay?"

"What?"

"Okay, you know this really isn't the time-!"

It wasn't really the time. Because at that very moment, Kaze Sabaku pulled into his garage.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my god, I am so sorry for the shortness. Really, I am, and for giving you a nasty cliffhangar. Sorry. What can I say? I have to get on a plane tomorrow for quite some time and won't be able to update for a couple of days. I just felt the need to tell you this and give you a bit of the next chapter, but I realize that this may be crueler than just not updating for an unusually long time. Oops.<strong>

**Anyhow, I want you to vote on my profile. I actually just want to know. If I write another story, would you'd read the sequel or would you rather I just continue on this? **

**I don't really want to lose any readers. So vote if you care. **


	47. Still Untitled

**Ok. I have decided. I will finish this story at fifty chapters. Like Gaara of the Darkness, it will stop suddenly and strangely. Sorry. I'm not good at ending things. **

**Then I will have a sequel. It might be longer or shorter than this one. Probably shorter. **

Gaara felt fear rise up in his gut as his ears picked up the faint crunch of gravel and immediately, Naruto stood up. He started to storm out of the room, but Kankuro grabbed his arm and yanked him back. Immediately, his little brother intervened, two hands firmly gripping Kankuro's forearm. "Don't touch him," the redhead said solemnly. "I- Gaara, he can't interfere," his older brother answered. "He has to hide!" "Like hell I will," Naruto snarled, trying to yank his arm free. "I-"

"You idiot! Let us handle this! Stay quiet and let us handle this!" Kankuro hissed. The door swung open downstairs. Kankuro and Temari both glanced at each other. "Shit," they cussed simultaneously. "Naruto, hide!" The blond, without thinking, darted under the bed, cussing as he banged himself up a bit. Gaara glanced at the dark, dark hiding place he himself had crawled into not long ago. "Naruto," he whispered. "Don't worry, Gaara, I'm here." A hand grasped his briefly before retreating into the darkness.

They tensed as they heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Temari bit her lip and helped Gaara sit on his bed. She sat down and glanced at Kankuro, who was still standing. He looked sick, pale, like he was going to puke any second now. He gulped and gritted his teeth. "He's a liar," she heard him growl to himself. "He's a monster." Her oldest brother looked scared. But he had an odd determination, a strange intensity in his face, a look she'd never seen before. Temari only had a moment to study this new look to her brother's face before the door swung open, slamming into the back wall with a smack.

"Kankuro? Temari? You two okay?" their father asked. He walks forward and touches Kankuro's shoulder gently. Temari expects Kankuro to look disgusted or angry, but to her surprise, her brother seems unaffected. "We're okay, Dad," he muttered. Temari stared at him, then turns her gaze to their father. "Temari, you're drunk-" "Not anymore," she said curtly. "I guess alcohol doesn't affect me a lot. I already had a puking fit." "Really," her father said. But his eyes weren't on her. They were on Kankuro. And it enraged her to see affection.

Did he even care about Gaara? She did not understand why he hated his youngest son so much.

Kaze turned to leave, his arm guiding Kankuro to the door.

"Come on downstairs-"

"No."

Kankuro pushed his arm off his shoulder gently. "Dad-"

"What, Kankuro?" Kaze asked.

"Gaara's injured. We have to take him to the hospital." There. Kankuro had said it. Now he waited for his father's reaction.

At first, his eyes flashed angrily and he stared menacingly at the redhead, who kept his gaze submissively on the floor. Then Kaze relaxed. "Why?"

"Be-because he's hurt. Please, Dad. Not for him. For me. Please?" Kankuro asked. He had to be really careful with everything he said.

"Kankuro-"

"Dad, _please." _

_There. _Kankuro put on his pleading face, the face he always used on his father back when he wanted something really badly, like a toy or more ice cream. He was hoping his father would comply. Like he always had.

Temari was in shock. Kankuro sounded like a little kid begging for a new toy. At first, she was disgusted. Kankuro was definitely the favorite and she hated that he still didn't believe he was a monster, even after seeing Gaara's injuries and knowing her, _their_ little brother's pain. But no, it wasn't like that. Kankuro might sound pleading and have a pouting look, but anger lurked behind his eyes, she was sure of it. He wasn't fooled by their father's facade anymore.

"Alright, Kankuro. If it really means that much to you," Kaze sighed. He glared at Gaara. "Keep your mouth shut," he snapped. "Can he walk?"

Immediately, Gaara tried to stand, panicked by the clear anger in his father's voice. And he collapsed.

From under the bed, Naruto tensed. He started to inch forward, but flinched as Temari kicked the bed. It shook above him and he got the message. He gritted his teeth. _Temari, you'd better do something or I will, _he silently told her. She probably knew anyway. Temari kneeled. She glanced under the bed, but didn't dare look any longer, less her father notice. She helped Gaara stand and he leaned on her. He groaned, his ribs spiking and burning with pain. But he fell silent under his father's glare. Naruto glared out at Kaze Sabaku. He wanted so badly to stop hiding. He wanted to get out from under the bed and beat the shit out of Kaze. But that wasn't really an option. Or at least, not a good option. Well, not... a viable option.

"Thanks so much, Dad," Kankuro said. He hugged Kaze Sabaku and the man returned the hug, a smile lighting up his face. For a moment, he actually looked human.

He turned and left, his arm amicably around Kankuro's shoulder.

Leaving Temari to support her beaten youngest brother.

Again, Naruto was tempted to get out and do something, but Temari hissed something that sounded like, "stay!" so he did. Every time a pain washed over Gaara's face, Naruto felt pain in his own heart. He wanted so badly to go to the hospital with Gaara. He wanted to hold Gaara's hand, be there for the redhead, not stay here and leave the redhead alone at the hospital. At the hospital with only his family. His cowardly sister ridden with guilt, his ignorant brother and the man who'd hurt him so badly, mentally and physically.

Naruto had promised he would never leave Gaara alone ever again.

And he wasn't. Or was he? Being surrounded by people they weren't comfortable with could make someone feel just as lonely as they'd be if there was no one there at all.

And Gaara definitely wasn't comfortable. That was obvious. The redhead glanced back at the bed, his eyes trying to pick out Naruto through the darkness. "Bye," he whispered.

"Hurry up!" Kaze barked from downstairs.

Temari and Gaara flinched. With another longing glance at his bed, Gaara let himself be pulled downstairs. Away from his blond friend.

Naruto felt his heart pang. "Bye," he whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, once again, I've said I won't update for a few days. And once again, I've proved myself wrong. But the connection up here is crappy, as suspected and I won't have my computer for awhile, so the lull this time will be pretty long. I promise to update as soon as I have connection and can get on my computer. <strong>

**I felt it was cruel to leave you a cliffhanger when I would be away for so long, so I got my computer and worked on updating. So I now have. This isn't _quite _a cliffhanger. **

**Or at least, not as bad as th other one, right? **

**OK. Later. **


	48. Surprise, Surprise

Gaara left the hospital a good five hours later. He avoided eye contact with his entire family the whole time and refused to speak when one of the nurses or doctors asked him questions. But it didn't matter anyway. His father was quick to answer all of their questions, lying in that convincing way that only he could. Gaara was glad. It meant he didn't have to lie convincingly himself. Instead he only had to sit there and do what they told him without thinking. Instead, he thought about Naruto. God, he was so glad the blond had been there for him. He loved him so much and the more he thought of Naruto, the more he wanted to see him.

But as the night dragged on, he realized Naruto would have to go home.

And he would be alone.

Gaara sighed thinking about it. But he accepted it. He would be alone tonight. But thanks to Kankuro, he wouldn't be hurting as badly.

He snuck a glance at his elder brother. He appreciated what he was doing. Yet his heart had still stung when Kankuro had talked about him like he didn't matter. But then, he'd always known their father loved and cared for Kankuro's wishes more than his other two children. But then, Gaara knew his father didn't consider him as his child. Really, what father would beat his own son? No, his father hurt him because he thought he was a monster. But now, Gaara wasn't sure if this excuse justified his actions.

It was all Naruto's fault, the redhead thought with amusement.

Part of him felt like he was just trying to convince himself and that Naruto was still an idiot and was wrong in thinking that he could be a human being.

But part of him felt that Naruto was right. That maybe he was a person. That, for once, the blond was right and he was wrong.

That his father was wrong.

Immediately, without thinking, his gaze turned to Kaze Sabaku's face.

The two stared each other down for a few moments before Gaara looked down first. The redhead bit his lip, surprised at his own daring.

As for his father, Kaze was shocked, angry that his son would meet his gaze. The monster never looked him in the eye. He was usually too scared to look at him, much less hold his gaze for more than a moment. It angered him and he wanted nothing more than to punch Gaara's face. Damage and bruise it until it was barely recognizable. But no, not here. And not now. He remembered he had to take a trip up to one of his houses and personally oversee one of his oil sites (**LOL, I made Kaze one of those asshole oil executives, mwah-hah-hah). **

So teaching that redheaded creature a lesson would have to wait a little. His eyes narrowed and Gaara shivered, sensing his father's animosity without seeing it. He considered teaching him a lesson tonight, after Kankuro was asleep. But he decided it was too risky. When anger clouded his judgement, he often went too far. He could do heavy damage. If he killed Gaara, Kankuro and Temari would never forgive him. It would be hard to cover up the crime and he doubted the authorities would know Gaara deserved it. No one could see passed Gaara's walls and see the horrible creature within.

Gaara rode home in the silent car. He kept his eyes on the sidewalks and houses as their car passed through a few neighborhoods. He eyed every window, every yard, the door, the porch or steps, the path to the door, every detail of a life he'd never had. Every time he saw his house, he felt terror stir in his chest until every one of his senses was screaming inside. He clutched his stomach, ignoring the horrible pain that sparked the moment he did. Tentatively, he tried to find Shukaku. Naruto had said he was still there.

But why couldn't Gaara find him?

If he was still there, he shouldn't feel so alone.

Gaara sighed. Maybe Naruto was right. Again. Maybe Shukaku had melded with his own mind and he couldn't feel him anymore because they were one, no longer two seperate halves of... dare he say whole? Gaara didn't want to think about anything anymore. Instead, he wanted to go home and crawl under his rarely used bed. Stay there, awake all night, waiting for his father to come for him in the middle of the night. He knew he wouldn't sleep tonight. No, that sense of peace only came at Naruto's house, with Naruto.

As they pulled into their garage, he got out quickly. Well, as quickly as he could with his ribs restricting his every movement. He staggered through the door, trying not to pass out. "Woah, Gaara, slow down or you'll hurt yourself," Kankuro said. "Too late for that, isn't it Kankuro?" Gaara mumbled quietly. He pushed his brother's helping arm away, leaning heavily to one side. He clung to the door frame, but as soon as he heard the door slam shut behind him, he shoved himself forward.

Up, up, up painfully up the horrid stairs.

Carefully into his room. Closing the door gently and pressing his body against the door, panting from exertion.

Putting his ear to the door and listening as the rest of his so called family going to bed, Kankuro and Temari's footsteps hesitating as they passed his door.

And almost screaming in surprise as something yellow emerged from the underside of his bed, yawning loudly.

"Man, I've been waiting for hours and both my legs are asleep! Believe it!"

**Hello. Just got back. What's up?**

**Please review. Or not. It matters to me, but it's not necessary for an update. Ok, I've already said this, so I'll just leave it at that. **

**Two chapters before sequel. **

**For those who are sighing and wondering "how long is witchdoctr going to drag this out?" Well I promise you, the third installment is the last. **

**And I'll do my best to make it exciting or at the very least, not repetitive. You just have to tell me how I'm doing right now. **


	49. The Chapter Yaoi Haters Should Skip

Naruto yawned and stretched his cramped limbs.

"Have you ever woken up after, like, hours sleeping in a cramped place with a sore in your neck and everywhere else you were bent and when you try to move, they feel stiff and like they're being jabbed with needles?"

"No."

"Really? That's weird. Ow," Naruto complained. He shook his foot and smacked both legs and feet. "I was sleeping for like five hours. Now how am I supposed to go to sleep now?"

"Sleep... now?" Gaara asked. "You're not... leaving?"

"Leaving? I bloody well hope not. I just spent five hours waiting for you, I'm not going to leave now," Naruto snorted. "Silly." He rubbed his neck and cracked it with a slight groan. "Damn, it's tight," he complained. Gaara stared at him, unable to speak. Naruto had stayed under a bed for five hours waiting for him. The blond hadn't budged an inch waiting for him. The ADHD, ants-in-the-pants blond extrovert had hid under the bed for five fucking hours waiting for him, to make sure he was okay, to stay with him all night. He wouldn't be alone tonight. He would not be alone. Naruto would never leave him alone.

Gaara smiled at him.

Then frowned.

"Are you okay?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "What about you? Are _you _okay?"

"Fine, I'm exempted from Gym, but that's the good part. I meant, how come you didn't come out and sleep on my bed rather than under it?"

Naruto stared at him. Then a smile split his face. "You know, I didn't think of that. I was waiting, expecting you to come back soon that I guess I stopped paying attention to how uncomfortable I was. I fell sleep in the dust under your bed. In fact, there's some dust in my nose-" he started to say more, but Gaara shushed him. "Quiet, _he's_ not asleep or deaf," the redhead whispered, crawling next to the blond. Suddenly he felt the need for warmth. For safety. For love. And Naruto was oozing all three. He snuggled closer and he ghosted his lips over the blond's soft neck skin. That smell was so intoxicating. His skin was so warm.

Naruto moaned quietly. "He... is such... an a-ass-hole," he gasped as Gaara ran his tongue lightly up the side of his tanned neck, tickling the sensitive skin and making goosebumps on his skin, pleasurable chills going up his spine. "I-I'm going to-t-to m-make... him sorry." Naruto found it hard to speak as Gaara's hot breath tickled his ear. He felt his cheeks flush in the darkness as something wet and warm ran over his ear lobe. He gasped. The sensation was so erotic and he put a hand to Gaara's hip, tugging them both even closer. The redhead moaned. He shifted position and pressed his lips to the blond, who immediately gave him access to his mouth. Gaara pushed him down gently, pulling away from the kiss. Naruto groaned in disappointment, his eyes still closed, but stopped when Gaara straddled him and leaned forward to resume their kissing.

Of course, blasted air and breathing always got in the way, though both of them always forgot until the very last second when their lungs burned.

Naruto gasped as quietly as he could, taking deep gulps. "I hate breathing," he sighed. "I can't stop saying it." "Then stop talking," Gaara said, mimicking Naruto after the first time they'd kissed. The blond choked as he tried to contain his laughter. Gaara wished he could hear Naruto's laughter. He loved the sound of the blond's wild, happy genuine laughter. Once the blond was done hiding his laugh, he just stared at the redhead for a moment, a wide smile on his face. He loved seeing Gaara smile, like he was doing right now. It gave Gaara a glow, a beautiful glow that he rarely possessed.

Naruto reached up and grasped Gaara's shirt, tugging at it and yanking the redhead closer and back into their kiss, making sure to take a deep breath to prolong the moment as long as possible. His fingers twisted in the fabric of his shirt as their kiss became more heated. Gaara had both hands on either side of his head, but they fell to Naruto's shoulders as the blond rolled, breaking their kiss again, so that he was on top. Gaara's chest hurt, but he didn't care. He didn't care. All that mattered right now was Naruto. Said blond grinned down at him, his eyes half closed. Gaara couldn't help but choke with suppressed laughter at the sight of that look."What's so funny?" Naruto asked, pinning Gaara's hips down with his hands. "You," Gaara smiled. Naruto leaned down, catching Gaara's lips into another kiss. His hands crept down to Gaara's belt.

The door creaked open slowly.

"Gaara-?"

Damn, those two could really pick the worst possible times to walk in.

* * *

><p><strong>Ha! Another yaoi moment ruined. Ah well. <strong>

**Second to last chapter. Next chapter wraps up the rest of THIS story. **

**See ya'll next time. **

**Reviews are appreciated, silence is ignored. **


	50. The End

Kankuro stared at Gaara, his eyes blinking stupidly.

"Uh-?"

Temari too was shocked, but not nearly as much as Kankuro, having walked in on them earlier. She bit her lip. The idea of Gaara being gay was so utterly bizarre. She wasn't sure how to take it. She was definitely weirded out, but how she reacted to the awkward, new thing she'd learned about her little brother was what she would have to decide. Later. Now she had more pressing news to attend to, more important news that Gaara needed to know. Good news, for once. God, she hated it when their father made _her _give bad news. But then, most news from him, anything from him at all was bad. Well, in her eyes. In her eyes, she could never see a father. Just a monster. Kankuro might've seen something, anything good in him, but she couldn't, not after seeing only his bad side and completely rejecting that fake good side. She hated the man and everything about him and everything he represented.

Naruto got off Gaara, slowly, not a hint of a blush on his face, just defiance. It was like he was taunting them, daring them to say something.

Well Kankuro took that dare.

"Gaa-" he started to shout something, but Temari grabbed him, pulling him into a headlock and covering his mouth with her hand. They all froze, waiting for some indication that Kaze Sabaku had heard them. After nearly ten minutes of anxious waiting they relaxed. Gaara stood up and sat on his bed. Naruto sat next to him and Kankuro sat on the floor while his sister remained standing. "I have good news," she whispered. "Really good news." Her eyes were bright and she was smiling. Gaara had never seen this kind of smile on his sister's face and he was momentarily surprised. Once, their father, in one of the worst beatings of his life, had shown him a picture of their mother. He'd been screaming something about him being a murderer and showing his son just who he'd killed. To make him feel lower than he already did.

And right now, Temari looked just like her. Happy and smiling.

It was quite a change from the icy-faced, bitter edged girl who'd watched her father beat his son almost to the point of death several times.

Yes. His son. Because now, Gaara could admit to himself that he might possibly be a human being and that he was Kaze Sabaku's son.

Because he didn't believe Naruto was an idiot.

But right now, seeing her happy, beautiful face, he wondered, not for the first time, who exactly he killed when he was born.

What kind of life, what kind of happy light he might've destroyed.

It didn't help that his mother had been blond, like Naruto and had a smile like sunshine, also like his blond friend. He felt guilty about that. Existing when she didn't, because of him. He shuddered and pitied his father for a moment. If his mother was anything like Naruto, then he felt he deserved the pain he received for killing her. Especially when all his life had been a complete black hole of an existence. And his life was nothing but suffering and misery while hers must've been loving and bright with a happy family and friends.

Gaara shook his head. He brought himself back to the present and away from his musings. He stared idly down at Naruto's hand, which was tightly grasping his own. He looked up, his eyes meeting the blond's bright blue eyes. Naruto grinned at him joyfully, his eyes sparkling and he squeezed his hand happily, though anger and hatred still burned in those eyes. Gaara wondered what had made him so happy. Which prompted him to pay attention to what Kankuro was exclaiming. "Don't you know what this means? He'll be gone! Gone from our lives for who knows how long on his business thing! We can call the cops now!" Kankuro said excitedly, though his voice dropped slightly when Temari threw him a panicked, irritated look.

"Are you crazy?" Temari hissed.

"Crazy? Why is it crazy?" Naruto whispered. "It's a good idea!"

"He just took Gaara to the hospital," Temari whispered back.

"Yeah! Proof Gaara was hurt recently! And I'm sure if they looked closely, they could-"

"His lies are impossible to see through. He's good at it! You think we haven't taken him to the hospital before? Kankuro, remember when Dad said Gaara was hit by a car while he was riding his bike? That's one incident," Temari said, watching Kankuro's mouth drop in shock before continuing. "He-he blackened every-e-every inch of skin to make sure his tracks were obliterated completely. No fist prints, hand prints, nothing that might indicate intentional physical abuse of any kind."

"But-but there must be something, some evidence-"

"Naruto! Please! Drop it! This is none of your business and you shouldn't even be-"

The floorboards creaked.

Immediately, they were silent. Each of them held their breaths. "Temari?" they heard Kaze whisper.

The blond girl held her breath, wondering if she should answer, but Gaara caught her eye and put a finger to his lips.

After a moment, Kaze moved away.

Gaara knew his "father" would and had assumed Temari was shunning him, as she always did. He'd just prayed that their father wouldn't check the room. It was safer to hope he wouldn't than to risk his father hearing Temari calling from _his_ room. Not that she wasn't often in his room, just that he might come in and there weren't enough hiding places for Kankuro and Naruto and he might be a little suspicious if there was a family gathering in the redhead's room. That and, well Gaara didn't want his father in the same room as he was. It was just too awful. He had so many bad memories in this room involving him and his father. Having his father in this very room... fear spiked through him just at the thought and he felt old wounds aching. He knew it was all in his head, just bad memories haunting him, though right now he did feel pretty beaten up from the most recent beating.

They heard the door slam.

And continued their heated debate.

"Listen, he's my friend-"

"He's our brother-"

"Exactly! We should report him!"

"You're so stupid!"

"You're one to talk, Kankuro!"

"Shut up, Naruto, that's not helping!"

"You don't know anything-"

"I know more than you, I know my father-"

"Ha! You didn't know. If you knew, than you're a complete asshole for not doing anything about it-"

"No! I mean, I know him, my dad, our dad, Gaara's dad."

"_You _know him? No you don't, I do. He made us move every time someone came close to figuring it out. Which is precisely why _you can't tell anyone_. You hear me, little blond moron?"

Naruto gritted his teeth. He was really pissed. Pissed that he could do nothing about the situation he was in. He hated that someone was hurting his redhead and getting away with it. There was a shred of relief mixed in with his outraged feelings, but mostly he was feeling angry and pumped, ready to do something, to kick some ass. Unfortunately, Temari had a few good points. The cards were stacked against him. As much as he wanted to go into Kaze's room with guns blazing, he knew that was a pointless course of action and certainly wouldn't get him anywhere.

He wanted justice. He wanted Gaara to be safe, _permanently not temporarily_. He wanted everything to be _right. _

But he didn't know how to achieve any of these goals. All he could do was... grrrr, nothing.

Gaara squeezed his hand tightly and the blond grinned at him. No. There was something he could do. Take care of Gaara. That was something. Something important. The redhead leaned against him, his eyes tired as he closed them and Naruto smiled. If he and Gaara were together, everything was right. As long as Gaara was with him, as long as Naruto was with _him, _then everything would be alright. He would figure something out. Then he could do something good for Gaara. He could save Gaara, for real, then and maybe kick Kaze's ass. If he couldn't, then maybe the Law could. He really wanted Kaze behind bars, if not beaten to a pulp.

"Gaara can crash at my place," Naruto said automatically. "No, screw it, he _will_ crash at my place." The blond stared at Temari, giving her the same intense stare he gave a teacher when he didn't know the answer to a question or Jiraiya when Naruto really wanted something. He turned his gaze to Kankuro, daring him to say anything. "Well," Kankuro started to say. Naruto glared at him. "I-it's just-just that- a second ago, you two were getting freaky," Kankuro murmured. Naruto kicked him in the side. Not too hard, just hard enough to know his displeasure. "It's not because I-" the blond blushed furiously now.

"Naruto, I don't want to burden you. He's going to be sending support checks for us through the mail and I don't want to live off your money," Gaara murmured. He wasn't too keen on the thought that his father was sending money to support them. All his life he'd been told he wasn't worth time, effort or money. Just knowing his father was doing his job somewhere sending them money made him feel like dead weight. A feeling that would no doubt be worse if he lived with Naruto, leeching off his money. Dead weight. Awful dead weight. He hated feeling useless.

And leeching off Naruto-

"Are you kidding me? I've got money to burn. Jiraiya won't care! He's cool with you! Come on, it'll be fun," Naruto said.

"Not too much fun, I hope," Kankuro murmured darkly, not forgetting that uncomfortable little freak show he'd walked into. The blond threw him a dirty look.

"Do we have a problem?" he demanded. Kankuro held his hands up in surrender.

"Naruto-" Gaara said pleadingly.

"No!"

"Naruto-" Gaara said, slightly exasperated with his blond's obstinacy.

"No!" the blond crossed his tanned arms and wore a stubborn face that ought to have been fined.

"Naruto!"

"Gaara! I know my name, thanks!"

They both glared at each other, the redhead with some annoyance, the amused blond with a pleading determination. As much as Gaara hated to admit it, the thought of living with Naruto knowing he didn't have to come back to this hellhole was very appealing...

The redhead nodded. And smiled. Just a little.

He didn't know how long his father would be gone. He just knew, that in that time period, Naruto would be with him.

For better of for worse.

But this time, Gaara knew it was for the better. He could say it without a shred of doubt.

* * *

><p><strong>Another horrible ending. So sorry. <strong>

**And on with the next story. Sigh. So I know I'm going to lose a lot of readers and reviewers when I jump to the next sequel and as a pathetice, lifeless writer, I suggest you look for it if you have any interest or if you care at all. **

**This last sequel will cover what I'm going to do with Sasuke, Suigetsu, Karin, Kaze, every loose end I left in this story. And angsty fluffy moments. Oh and yaoi. That should be something to look forward to, right? Unless you find my yaoi scenes really bad. **

**See You Later, I hope. **


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